Cross My Heart
by Adurna Skulblaka
Summary: Light hates being handcuffed to L; he has no privacy, no time to himself... he can't even sleep without the detective watching his every move. But then Light starts to feel for the detective, even though he knows he shouldn't, and things start to spiral out of his control...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: And here we are! After a week or two of writing and rewriting - and re-rewriting - _Cross My Heart_ is here. I'm going to be following the Death Note storyline, so for now the bulk of the chapters will be made up of actual scenes from the manga. It'll change as the fic progresses though, promise. I'm aiming to get at least one page of my own writing in each chapter somewhere. I might use the anime too, it depends on how patient I am about writing out the scenes...  
I'm really excited about this fic. I've been wanting to write my own LxLight fic for a while and, well... this idea was too good to pass up.  
Enjoy, my dear readers.**

* * *

_Ka-chink-chink!_

The handcuff that had just been locked around Light Yagami's wrist jingled in a merry fashion, making it seem more innocent than it really was. The young man frowned and looked at the scruffy, raven-haired detective on the other end of the chain. "Is this really necessary, Ryuzaki?"

"I'm not doing this because I want to," he replied, lifting his wrist to study the metal. It reflected the light from the hotel lamps and sent pale shapes dancing over the walls.

"So this is what you meant by being together twenty-four hours a day?" Misa Amane, who was supposedly the Second Kira, raised an eyebrow. "You know, I never would have guessed. Are you on _that_ side of the fence, Ryuzaki?"

"I _told_ you, I'm not doing this because I want to," he insisted. L sighed; the girl had barely started talking, and she was already giving him a headache. Who knew what state his brilliant mind would be in when - _if _- Misa was released?

"But Light belongs to me! I don't wanna share him with you! If you're together twenty-four-seven, how are we supposed to go on dates together?" the girl whined.

Light grimaced. _Yes, I'd _hate_ to miss them,_ he thought sarcastically.

L seemed to have been expecting her question. "Oh, you can still go on dates, but it will have to be with the three of us."

"No way!" Misa cried. "Are you telling me we have to kiss in front of you and stuff?" She scowled at him, looking more like a stubborn child than a 'mature' woman.

"I'm not telling you to do anything but, yes, I would be watching." L was either oblivious to Misa's discomfort, or he just didn't care. Light decided that, if he was betting, he would put his money on the latter.

"That's so gross! You really _are_ a pervert, aren't you?"

"Light-kun, _please_ make Misa-san stop talking now…"

Said member of the Yagami family turned to Misa, a frown on his face. "Listen, Misa, that's enough! The police have already established that it was you who sent those tapes, so you're lucky to even be here right now. They have every right to keep you in prison."

The model's eyes widened. "Huh? How can you say that, Light? In case you forgot, I'm your _girlfriend_; don't you trust your own soul mate?"

Light closed his eyes for a brief moment, struggling to stay calm, and then opened them again. "What do you mean, 'soul mate'? You're the one that said you fell in love with me, Misa."

The girl's mouth fell open in shock, and she burst into tears, making Light feel a little bit guilty. "So why would you kiss me if you didn't have feelings for me? You took advantage of me!" She started to hit him, but her blows were soft enough that he could just stand there and watch, looking annoyed. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, ah!" she wailed.

The Task Force glanced at Soichiro, who was staring at his son disapprovingly; L decided it would be best if he interrupted before Misa said or did anything else that would irritate the Chief further. "About this love at first sight… it happened in Aoyama on the twenty-second, didn't it?"

Misa stopped, her fists still raised. She looked over her shoulder at the strange detective. "Huh? Yeah… so what?" Her brief tantrum was over, and her tears were already drying. Of course, because she was Misa-Misa, she didn't look like she'd cried in the first place.

"Why did you choose that day to go to Aoyama? Do you remember what you wore?" L tilted his head to the side slightly.

The girl swung around to face him. "It's like I told you! I don't know why I went there, I don't remember how I felt, and I don't even remember what I was wearing! And anyway, since when do I need a reason to hang out in Aoyama, huh?" She took a furious step towards L.

He leaned forwards curiously. "And somehow, when you came back from Aoyama, you knew you were in love with someone and his name was Light. And yet you have no idea how you came to know his name."

Misa and L were almost nose-to-nose. "Yeah, so what?" she spat.

"Tell me, what if Light-kun _was_ Kira? How would that make you feel?"

"How would I feel if Light was Kira…?" Misa paused, a tiny smile on her lips. "That'd be wonderful…" she sighed. "I mean, I've always been grateful to Kira for punishing the man who murdered my parents, so if I found out that Light was Kira, that'd be, like, a bonus for me!" As she spoke, she rubbed her face against his arm in what was supposed to be an affectionate manner. Light tried to move back, looking incredibly uncomfortable, but she held on tightly. "If anything, it'd probably make me love him even more, even though that's, like, practically impossible, because there'd be no more room!"

"But we're talking about _Kira_, here," L said, sounding doubtful. "You'd love him even more for that? Wouldn't you be afraid? What if he tried to kill you?"

"Light wouldn't be scary at all!" Misa smiled and pulled herself closer to the young man, if that was possible. "I'm a supporter of Kira, so if I found out my Light was Kira, I'd try to find a way to be helpful!"

L didn't look impressed.

Neither did Aizawa.

"You'd probably only get in the way…" the black-haired detective muttered. "I'm sure Kira doesn't need your help. Well, Misa-san, based on what you just told me, there can be no mistake: you are the Second Kira. But you've made it so painfully obvious that I don't really want to believe it…"

The model inched behind Light, using him as a shield against L's words. "Whatever, it's not believable because I'm not the Second Kira!" Childishly, she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Anyway, for the time being, you'll remain under surveillance. When you do go out, if needed, you'll be able to contact us using this room's extension. For the most part, your life will go back to normal. From now on, for all private, work-related affairs, Matsuda-san will be your new manager, Matsui."

L continued talking, but Misa wasn't listening. She stared at Matsuda, pouting. "This old guy's my manager? You can't be serious!"

"Aw, come on, Misa-Misa!" Matsuda protested. "Is it the tie, 'cause I can-"

The young man was cut off by Aizawa's furious shout, and the sound of his palms hitting the table with a loud _thwack!_ He stood and glared at the group, his teeth gritted in anger. "Would you cut it out with all this dating, kissing and Misa-Misa talk already? This is the Kira investigation; stop messin' around!"

Matsuda paled and lowered his head, embarrassed. "Sorry about that, Aizawa…"

"It's fine… I just worked out what the problem is…" His movements were controlled, despite his irritation, as he stalked over to Misa. "Amane, it's time for you to go to your room." He steered her towards the door, ignoring her complaints. "Off you go…"

Her attempts to escape failed, and she only managed to hold the door open long enough to shout, "Hey, Light, let's go on dates even if it's the three of us!"

And then blessed silence.

The slam as the door shut made all of the men relax, even though they could hear the very faint sounds of Misa's shouting, which soon stopped altogether. With his dark eyes still on Aizawa, L said, "So, Light-kun, are you serious about her?"

Light turned his gaze away from the door and rested it on L. "No, as I told you, it's completely one-sided…"

L's next words shocked Light. "Then could you act like you are? We know she's involved with the Second Kira from the video tape evidence, and it's also obvious that she loves you…"

"You want me to pretend to get close to her?" The young man grimaced. "Ryuzaki… even if it's to solve the Kira Case, I could never play with a woman's heart like that. To me, manipulating a person's feelings is the worst thing someone could do." He paused, noticing that L was frowning ever so slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. You're right, Light-kun… but I'd appreciate it if you could make sure she doesn't reveal anything to do with the investigation."

Light simply nodded. _He cares about the case enough to ask me to... to do _that_? Well... I can't fault his dedication._ "Is there anything that can be done about the constant need to change hotels?"

"Yes, I've already thought about that," L admitted. He began walking towards his computer and, because of the chain, Light was dragged with him. He almost tripped when it pulled on his wrist and caught him by surprise. It tinkled with every slight movement; Light knew it was going to get on his nerves before long. L began to type quickly, bringing up an image of an impressive building on the screen. "Construction started when I first met face-to-face with Yagami-san and the others. It should be completed in a few days."

"Wow!" Matsuda gasped as L moved aside.

"There are twenty-three floors above ground, and two below," the detective continued. "You can't tell from the outside, but the roof is equipped with two helicopters. It appears to be an ordinary building, but you need to go through a series of security check points to enter. All of the computers and equipment are the best available.

"The fifth to the twentieth floor all have four private rooms each, so I'd like all of you to live there as much as possible. If we increase our numbers, we can accommodate about sixty people. Misa-san will get her own floor; that should keep her happy…"

"Where are you getting the money for all of this…?" Matsuda asked, his voice quiet.

"So, as you can see, I want to solve this case no matter what," L finished. Matsuda and Aizawa exchanged a glance when they noticed he didn't answer the question, but didn't bring it up.

"I'm with you," Light said firmly. "The mass-killings are bad enough, but I'll never forgive Kira for the trouble he's brought to me and Dad. I want to catch him no matter what."

"If you _really_ mean 'no matter what', why not get close to Misa-san?"

"I can't do that, Ryuzaki, I told you."

"How unfortunate…"

Aizawa made a comment that was quickly hidden by a cough. Soichiro looked at him questioningly, so the police officer spoke up. "Uh, nothing, I'm just really motivated now. Ryuzaki, Chief, Light, let's catch Kira, whatever it takes!"

Matsuda raised his hand. "Uh… you forgot my name…"

* * *

Once the various police officers headed home for the night, Light added another few problems to the growing list concerning the handcuffs.

Where and how would he sleep? Would he have any privacy? When L said they'd be together twenty-four hours a day…

… did he _really_ mean it?

Light hoped not, but something told him he'd be disappointed.

The detective was crouched on an armchair, nibbling at a sugar cube quite happily. His dark hair hid most of his face from Light, leaving the young man with a view of his chin. Light cleared his throat; the sound seemed like a shout in the silence that they had been in before. "Ryuzaki?"

The sugar cube broke between L's teeth with a loud _crunch._ "Yes?"

Light winced. His cough had been no louder than a soft sigh in comparison to _that_. "Do you think I could go to the bedroom to sleep? I'm exhausted."

L sighed. "I forgot that most people have to sleep… no matter. Of course, Light-kun. Allow me to collect a few things, and then we can go." He stood, picking up the bowl of sugar cubes and his laptop.

"You're not unlocking the handcuffs?" Light asked, his eyes wide. "All I'll be doing is sleeping! How can I-"

"I can't let you out of my sight for one moment," L said firmly, interrupting him. "You'll have to get used to it, I'm afraid. Now, do you want to rest or not? I have more work to do; I can't be waiting for you to make a decision."

Grudgingly, Light followed L into the large hotel bedroom. It was plain, with a double bed against the opposite wall. He didn't wait to see what the detective would do or study the bedroom further; Light immediately fell onto his front on the bed and closed his eyes. The weeks of confinement and the uncomfortable floor he had endured caught up on him in a rush, and he quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Light was woken in a rude and fairly painful manner.

L had moved off of his side of the bed suddenly, and Light's arm was pulled after him, causing him to not only hit his head on L's bedside table, but to start to slide onto the floor while he tried to work out what had just happened. Light's yelp of surprise and the bang of the table alerted L to his mistake; the detective turned around, a frown on his face.

"Damn!" Light howled, clutching his head with the hand that wasn't stretched by the chain. His eyes watered and his head throbbed. "Ryuzaki," he muttered, "would you mind coming back over so I can sit up?"

There was a slight hesitation before the chain slackened, allowing Light to heave himself back onto the bed. "My apologies," L murmured as the young man gingerly lowered his hand. "Light-kun, are you alright?"

"Fine," he snapped. He stood, fixing his furious amber eyes on the detective's emotionless grey ones. "What the hell was that about?"

"I must have forgotten about the handcuffs. I was very deep in thought, Light-kun. I did not hurt you on purpose."

"You _forgot_?" Light snarled. "You're L! How can you _forget_ about something like this?"

"You should remember to call me Ryuzaki," the older man said quietly, narrowing his eyes. "While I appreciate you are angry and probably still in pain, you know full well to call me Ryuzaki at all times, unless I say otherwise. I am truly sorry for hurting you, Light-kun, but now is not the time for mistakes. I will allow you that slip-up once, and only once. Get dressed; we have work to do."

As L turned away Light glared at his back, and became annoyed when the detective couldn't feel the imaginary holes being burned into his shirt from the intensity of Light's stare. He considered ignoring L's instruction just to be difficult, but the detective was right - annoyingly so. The Kira Case was more important than a pointless fight.

Sighing, Light reached for a set of clean clothes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: This was brilliant fun to write! I don't know about anyone else, but _Strike_, or Episode 18, is my favourite chapter/episode of Death Note.  
Enjoy :)**

* * *

The end of the week found the Task Force outside their new Headquarters. The day was chilly, with a sharp wind that nipped at any exposed skin, turning it rosy red. Matsuda stared at the building, his mouth hanging open, while Soichiro and Mogi simply stood there with wide eyes. L had already disappeared inside with Light and Misa close behind, leaving Watari with the rest of the Task Force.

"This is amazing!" Matsuda breathed.

Watari chuckled. "Indeed it is, Matsuda-san. If you will all follow me, I will introduce you to the security system. It is quite complex, and will require your full attention." The old man entered, his shoes clicking on the pavement. The Task Force followed him obediently; Matsuda chattered away excitedly, but Mogi ignored him, leaving Soichiro to pretend to look vaguely interested. Aizawa had yet to arrive, but he knew the location of the Headquarters, and Watari had already told him what each of the checkpoints required.

L, Light and Misa, however, were already through all of the various security barriers. They were inside the elevator, waiting to reach Misa's floor. The girl held onto Light's arm with a grip that was making it go numb, and she spoke in a chirpy, happy voice. "I can't _wait_ to see my room! Thank you so much for letting me have a whole floor, Ryuzaki!"

The detective simply nodded once in acknowledgement. He kept his gaze focused on the numbered buttons by the door, refusing to look elsewhere. His hands were shoved in his pockets and his shoulders tilted forwards. Light watched L closely in an attempt to work out the older man's thoughts, but it was no use; L was as enigmatic as ever._ He really does have terrible posture,_ Light thought, suddenly concious of his own, which was perfect compared to L's.

A bell chimed as the elevator stopped, making Light jump. The doors slid open and Misa released her hold on Light so she could skip into her room, clapping her hands in delight. "It's amazing! I wonder where- Hey, Light, aren't you coming in, too?"

Light shook his head. "No, Misa. I'm going down to the main room with Ryuzaki. We have work to do."

"But, Light!" Misa wailed. "We've only just arrived! Please stay! We can go on a date! We haven't had one in ages!"

Two pairs of eyes settled on L, one pleading and the other irritated. The detective heaved a sigh and looked down at his bare feet. "Fine. There isn't much of the day left as it is… Watari, would you mind bringing up some cake and refreshments?" When Light and Misa looked confused, L added, "There are surveillance cameras and microphones; the rest of the Task Force can see and hear everything."

"Just great! I have to share Light with you _and_ have a bunch of old guys watch our date?"

"Misa-san… please be quiet…"

The girl bristled and prepared to give L a rather nasty reply when Light intervened. "That's enough," he growled, stepping between them. "It's necessary, Misa; you'll have to get used to it."

"Alright," she muttered, scowling at L. "I won't like it though." She grabbed Light's hand and dragged him over to the seating area. Both men stumbled but regained their footing quickly. Misa sat on one sofa and L crouched on the opposite one, leaving Light in a bit of a dilemma.

_A boyfriend should sit next to his girlfriend – even if I don't know _how _this happened, or why – but that's impossible with this chain. Oh, well, she'll have to get over it. _Only a couple of seconds had passed since L had chosen his spot, so Light was confident that neither of them would have noticed his hesitation as he took his seat. Watari soon brought up a tray of cake and tea for them before leaving them alone again – or as alone as they would be with the surveillance cameras.

There was a long and incredibly awkward silence as L helped himself to a slice of his favourite dessert and started to eat. Misa alternated between staring lovingly at Light and shooting irritated glances at L, while Light simply stared at the floor.

Misa was the one who eventually broke the silence. "This is the worst date I've ever been on," she complained.

"Please, just pretend I'm not even here," L said through a mouthful of strawberry. He swallowed, licked his lips and put the clean plate down on the table. He kept the end of the fork in his mouth as he mumbled, "By the way, are you gonna eat that piece of cake?"

"Cake makes you fat, I'm not eating any," Misa replied, turning her nose up at it.

"Actually, I find you don't gain any weight if you burn calories by using your brain."

Misa gasped. "So now you're calling me stupid?! Hmph… Fine, I'll give you the cake, but only if you leave me and Light alone!" She obviously thought she'd caught L, which amused Light greatly. He simply turned his head to the side to hide his expression, as the corners of his lips were turned upwards slightly.

"Even if I leave, I'll still be watching on surveillance cameras so it won't make any difference…" L sighed.

"You're such a pervert! Stop these sick hobbies of yours!"

The detective rolled his eyes and leaned towards the table to pick up Misa's plate. "Call me whatever you want, last chance for cake!"

As L settled in his favoured sitting position again, Misa smirked and came up with another idea. "Then I'll close the curtains and turn out the lights!"

"We have infrared cameras too."

"Then we'll get under the covers, right, Light?"

"Whatever…" Light murmured. He hadn't really been paying attention, so Misa's cry of hurt was a surprise, but he ignored it. "We have this amazing building now, but you don't seem very into it, Ryuzaki."

"Into it…?" A forkful of cake hovered before his lips as he thought about it. "Not really… I'm actually kind of depressed… Through the whole investigation I thought you were Kira. I'm shocked that I was wrong…" L chewed on his treat, swallowed, and then shook his wrist so the chain rattled. "Obviously, I still suspect you. That's why we're wearing these.

"But Kira can control people's actions… meaning Kira could have controlled you to make me think you were Kira. Light-kun and Misa-san were both controlled by Kira… Everything fits in my mind if I assume that to be fact." L slid the plate onto the table and rested his hands on his knees, his head tilted to one side. He lowered his gaze to the floor, speaking to it instead of Misa and Light.

"The only thing I don't understand is why the two of you weren't killed. If you were being controlled and killed people without being conscious of it, then you are victims. In that case, I have to start the investigation from the beginning… If Kira took an interest in Light-kun because he has access to police information, and then controlled him to make him a suspect in my eyes… That's quite a shock to me... it's very frustrating…"

Light had turned his body towards L as the detective spoke, his wide with worry. "Ryuzaki, with that line of thinking, it means that while we were being controlled, Misa and I were the two Kiras…"

"I'm certain I didn't make any mistakes. You're both Kiras."

Misa made a "Hmph!" sound, crossed her arms and glared at L. Light frowned and leaned forwards as L continued.

"The way I see it, when you went into confinement you were Kira, Light-kun. And then the killings stopped… up until then, it made sense that you were Kira. But then, two weeks later, the killings resumed… based on that, I think Kira's power passes from person to person. The Second Kira's video even mentioned that the power could be shared."

"That's an interesting theory," Light admitted, "but if that's true, catching Kira will be difficult."

"Yes, that's why I'm depressed…" The dark haired detective dropped a sugar cube into his tea before resting his chin on his knee. "You control someone and use them to kill the criminals, and when that person is caught you transfer the power to someone else. The first person then loses all their memories… This would make capture impossible…"

"But that's not definite yet," Light protested. "There are too many things about Kira we don't know at the moment." He smiled and placed a hand on L's shoulder. "Come on, show some energy!"

L's grey eyes flicked towards Light's hand, a very small frown creasing his brow, but he didn't question it. "Energy…? I'm just not feeling it… Why even bother? Trying hard to catch Kira just puts us in danger. I thought I was going to die many times already…" He trailed off and picked up his cup of tea, tilting his head towards Light when the young man got to his feet. L thought he was merely irritated and wanted to move around to release his frustration, as he'd seen him do before.

He certainly hadn't expected Light's reaction.

_Thwak!_

Light's fist connected with L's face, sending the detective flying across Misa's room. However, Light had forgotten about the chain, and he gasped in pain when the handcuffed pulled on his wrist and forced him to trip over. The table between the sofas fell onto its side, and the various plates and cups shattered, scattering china across the floor. L hit a plant pot – which he knocked over – and landed flat on his back.

L pushed himself into a half-sitting position, wincing as he did so. "Ouch… that hurt, you know…"

"You're being ridiculous!" Light shouted, picking himself up. The young man was _furious_; Light was in _that_ building, chained to _that _detective, suspected of being a _criminal _because of Kira, and there L was, saying that they should give up because he was _depressed_? "Just because I'm not the true Kira, just because you were wrong, you want to admit defeat? Don't be so childish!"

L touched his cheek with his fingertips lightly and took his time answering Light. "I might have worded it badly… All I'm saying is that continuing this is getting us nowhere, so maybe we should stop."

"What are you talking about?" Light got to his feet, ignoring Misa's cries of "Stop!" from behind him. "If we don't chase Kira, who else will catch him? You swore to send Kira to his execution!" He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but Light seized the front of L's shirt and pulled him close in order to yell straight into his face. "The police, the FBI agents, TV announcers… how many innocent people do you think have been victimised? You're the one who put Misa and me in confinement!"

"I understand…" L murmured quietly. "But still… whatever the reason…" In the blink of an eye, he twisted out of Light's grip and swung his foot around, kicking Light backwards. "An eye for an eye, my friend."

One would have thought that, since they were perhaps the two smartest people in the world at the time, one of them would have remembered the handcuffs.

Apparently not.

Light landed on the sofa with an aching jaw, and L cried out as he was pulled after his suspect. The seat creaked and wobbled for a worrying moment, before finally giving in and tipping backwards. L quickly scrambled to his feet and crouched in front of Light, refusing to seem vulnerable for a second. "It's not just that my reasoning was wrong. It's the fact that the case can't be solved as 'Light Yagami is Kira, and Misa Amane is the Second Kira', so I'm a little disappointed. I'm human, Light-kun; that's not allowed?"

Light grunted, slowly getting up. "No, it's not. The way you talk… it's like you won't be satisfied unless I'm Kira." He would never admit it, but L's words stung.

The detective fixed his eyes on Light's, trapping the younger man in his gaze. "Not satisfied unless you're Kira…? Well, there may be some truth to that… In fact… _I wanted you to be Kira_…"

Light hauled them both to their feet, and another punch landed on L, but this time he was prepared; he stayed upright, the only sign of his strain being the faint tremors running through his limbs. "I told you, 'an eye for an eye'. I'm a lot stronger than I look, you know." He turned, dropped onto all fours and threw his foot up towards his opponent again.

Light hissed in pain; he would definitely have bruises. He yanked on the chain to pull L back up to the same level again. They both grabbed a handful of each other's shirts and drew back their fists. Neither of them bothered to speak anymore; their anger was getting the better of them, forcing them both beyond the need for words. Their only aim was to hurt the person on the other end of the chain as much as possible.

The shrill trilling of the phone brought them back to their senses. Light allowed L to move away to answer it while he caught his breath and cleared his head. The detective picked it up with his forefinger and thumb, and held it against his ear. "Yes? … What happened? … I see…"

And, without ending the conversation in a civil way, he dropped the phone back into its holder.

"What was it?" Light asked.

"Nothing…" L sighed. "Just Matsuda being stupid again…"

"That is his specialty…" He agreed. Hesitantly, he added, "I'm sorry I hit you, Ryuzaki… Let's go get cleaned up." He didn't wait for his partner to agree; he simply walked away, the chain which had caused all of the trouble pulling L after him, and left Misa to stare in horror at her ruined room.

* * *

Light hissed as he pressed a damp cloth against his painful jaw and glanced over at L. The detective hadn't attempted to apply any form of relief to his own injuries; he simply stared at Light, his thumb between his lips.

Eventually, he spoke. "It seems I was a little over the top with my kicks… Are you alright, Light-kun?"

"I'm fine… What about you? You should do something about those. They look like they hurt."

"Hm. I suppose so." He still didn't reach for a cloth, though; instead, he beckoned to Light. "Let me check you over, Light-kun. Some of my hits were quite hard. I don't want one of the members of the Task Force to be in pain while he works."

Light started to open his mouth to speak – his bruised cheek jarring as he did so – but before he could, a cold hand rested on his, gently moving the cloth away. He allowed L to brush his fingertips over the marks, almost enjoying the feeling, but jerked his head away when the detective poked a particularly sensitive spot. "Ow," he growled, "be careful."

"I'm sorry," L mumbled, moving back. "Perhaps we should attempt to refrain from fighting again."

"Yeah," Light agreed; the bruises he had now would be there for a few days, maybe a week, and he didn't want any more of them to match.

"If you're ready, Light-kun, we may as well go to our room. It's getting late, and I'm sure you're still not fully recovered yet." L sounded annoyed with the idea, and Light was fairly certain that he wanted to get back to work as soon as possible.

"That sounds good to me, Ryuzaki. Lead the way."

The ride up in the elevator was silent, but not uncomfortably so. L watched Light out of the corners of his eyes but his young partner didn't notice, thankfully. Light leaned against the wall of the elevator as it soared smoothly upwards, his head drooping slightly with the exhaustion he had hidden until now. The cheerful ringing of the bell accompanied the swish of the doors opening, revealing a long corridor. Four doors split off from the hallway, two on each side. L strode down it, Light trotting after him, until he reached the one on the far left. He took a set of keys from his pocket, unlocked it, and swept his arm before him to indicate that Light should enter first.

The room wasn't large, despite the size of the building, but it was comfortable. The back wall was made up of windows which offered a view of the city outside. The light overhead gave the room a warm glow, and lit up the cream coloured walls and carpet. A large double bed stood in front of the windows with a duvet and pillows that matched the walls. Across from it was a wooden chest of draws made from some dark wood; a wardrobe of a similar colour was to the left of the bed, with a small table beside it. A desk on the right had a laptop on it, complete with desk chair. The bathroom was through a door just to the side of that.

"Well, Light-kun? What do you think?"

"… Wow…"

* * *

**Author's note: Now then, according to my copy of How to Read 13, I have two months of nothing to fill in... Because of this, the next few chapters will be filled with just my writing.  
This will be... interesting. And hopefully it will go well!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Ah! I'm so sorry for not updating earlier! I thought it would be easier to have free reign over the chapters for a while, but it turns out it's more difficult. I only just thought of the ending of this chapter last night.  
It's not _entirely_ my fault. The amount of homework I'm getting is ridiculous. It takes up a lot of my time. I won't promise a time for the next chapter. Fingers crossed I have more time to write it.  
I'll admit, it's a little bit of a filler chapter, except for a few points. Enjoy it anyway :)**

* * *

Light's eyes flew open, his heart pounding. He gasped for breath and eventually managed to control the trembling that shook his limbs. He didn't notice a certain detective leaning over him, thumb between his lips, until this point.

"Ah!" he cried, scrambling backwards until he hit the headboard; he grunted as a bruise he hadn't noticed from the previous day's fight hit the wood. "R-Ryuzaki? What the hell?"

"You were tossing and turning in your sleep, Light-kun. I only wanted to make sure you were alright." L retreated to an acceptable distance, still studying his colleague. "Were you having a nightmare?"

As a matter of fact, yes, he had been. Dreams of the cell Light had spent his confinement in had been plaguing his mind ever since he'd been released, and they simply wouldn't go away. With them came a feeling of being trapped, as well as heavy guilt that dragged him to the cold, stone floor until he was pleading with the invisible force. It only got worse until he woke up.

"Light-kun?" L raised an eyebrow. "Did you hear my question?"

"Oh, yes… sorry. Yeah, I was having a nightmare…" Light looked away, uncomfortable with sharing this information. He ran a hand through his caramel hair and rested his gaze on the cream carpet.

"Do you wish to talk about it?"

"I'd rather not…"

L nodded. "Alright then. If you are ready, shall we get up?" He slid one foot down to the floor and started to stand, but Light tugged on the chain, pulling him back onto the bed; L landed in a normal sitting position, which looked odd to Light. "What was that for?" the detective asked, a hint of frustration making its way into his usually monotone voice.

"It's seven a.m.!" Light protested.

"So?"

"It's too early!"

"And? You're awake anyway..."

"The Task Force doesn't get here for another two hours yet." Light crossed his arms and refused to move. L fixed his eyes on the chain and stayed silent while the younger man continued. "Have you even slept? You could do with some rest, Ryuzaki."

"I cannot sleep, Light-kun. I am an insomniac. There is much we can do in two hours-"

"-If we find a lead-"

"-And I do not wish to squander that time by attempting to do something I know will not happen," L finished, finally looking up at the younger man.

"Just _try_," Light insisted. "It'll do you some good to sleep."

The detective shook his head, his dark hair hiding his expression. "No. It's useless. Get up, Light-kun, and we will go downstairs to the main room."

Light, however, would have none of it. He growled and jerked his left hand – his chained hand – to the right, a smirk on his face. L's eyes widened in shock and a gasp left his lips as he fell onto his side. He pushed himself up on one elbow and gave Light an irritated look. "That was a dirty trick."

"But it worked."

L placed his thumb on his lips. "Preventing me from continuing work on the case… your percentage has risen by one-percent, Light-kun."

Anger bubbled in Light's veins at the words which were, sadly, becoming familiar to him. "I'm not Kira!" he spat. "I just want to relax! And _you_ need to sleep!"

"Light-kun-"

L's eyes widened and then narrowed when Light's hand covered his mouth, cutting off his speech. He considered biting the fingers that rested on his lips - which were unfamiliar, and felt strange compared to his thumb that usually sat there - but eventually decided that it would only infuriate Light further, which wasn't worth the trouble. Instead, he stayed silent and waited for the young man to calm down.

Light let his hand drop to the bed covers and L sat up, drawing his knees to his chest. "The others will be annoyed if we start without them anyway," Light said, "especially Matsuda. You know he wants to try and help. And you'd be able to think better if you were fully rested, correct?"

"If they want to assist us, they can get here earlier," L replied stubbornly. "I will not sleep, Light-kun, because it will not do any good to try." Without saying another word, L seized Light's wrist, stood up, and dragged him from the bed. Light pulled himself out of L's grip to steady himself, but he still tumbled unceremoniously to the floor. He received no offer of help from the quietly chuckling detective, so Light stood by himself, brushing his wrinkled pyjamas down. "Do be careful," the older man added, sniggering.

Light simply glared at him and followed him into the bathroom.

The bathroom was just as impressive as the bedroom; white tiles made up the floor and walls with intricate gold patterns around the edges. Opposite the door was a large shower – which Light noticed that he would have to share with L. He grimaced at this – and the toilet was further along the wall. To the left of the door was a long counter, complete with two sinks and mirrors.

Light stared at his reflection in horror. Bruises bloomed across his jaw and under his eye, decorating his face with purple marks that would soon become darker. It half amused him to see that L was in the same state, but he also felt a little guilty.

"Look at what you've done," Light growled, gesturing at his own face.

L merely blinked at him, his head tilted to one side. "It seems my attacks _were_ harder than I'd thought they would be."

"These will be here for days," Light groaned, gently poking a bruise and wincing because of it. "_And_ they'll be impossible to hide…"

"Why do you care? You won't be going out anywhere. The only people who will see you will be Misa, the Task Force and me."

"Still…"

"The fact that you care so much for your appearance makes you seem a little less… what's the word?" The detective raised his thumb to his lips and nipped at his nail as he thought. "Ah, yes… a little less _straight _than you appear to be."

Light could only gape at L. Was the detective calling him…?

"… Ryuzaki…"

"What is it?"

"… Don't you think that's a bit… uh… over the line?"

"My apologies if you were offended."

For some reason, Light doubted that L was being sincere. The young man sighed and averted his gaze. He kept it fixed on the corner of the mirror as his partner continued speaking. "If you wouldn't mind, Light-kun, could you hurry up? We have exactly one hour and fifty-seven minutes before the Task Force arrives now."

"Don't rush me," Light muttered, scowling.

L pretended not to hear.

Light took his time brushing his teeth and fixing his hair, partly because he wanted it to be perfect, and partly because he wanted to irritate L. He didn't appear to succeed, though; the detective simply commented on the time they were losing and often asked the annoying question, "Are you nearly finished, Light-kun?" several times over. Light wondered whether he should aim another punch at L, but eventually decided not to. It wouldn't be helpful to the investigation, and it would certainly be embarrassing when the Task Force arrived to see them with even more bruises than before. Light dressed quickly – he noticed L changed his clothes for ones that were exactly the same – and they made their way downstairs.

The kitchen and dining room took up an entire floor. The elevator opened into the dining room, which had a long table through the centre. The door to the kitchen was opposite Light, on the other side of the table.

L's breakfast was cake, of course.

What else would it have been?

Light managed to catch a glimpse of the soft yellow sponge and a bright red strawberry before it was covered with a thick layer of whipped cream. His stomach churned at the sight, and he turned back to his toast, looking a little green. The familiar – and very normal – taste of the buttered bread helped to settle the brief sick feeling.

Naturally, L picked up on it.

"Are you alright, Light-kun?" he asked through a mouthful of the sickeningly sweet food.

"It's just… do you _have _to eat that for breakfast? It's hardly healthy."

L took his time chewing and swallowing; he placed his fork beside the cream-covered cake and gripped his knee with his now-free hand. "Because I do not sleep, I need some other way of gaining energy, so I can work at my full potential. Sugar is the most obvious choice. I prefer tea to coffee, as you well know – I really don't know how you can drink that vile stuff – so I eat sweets instead to keep my brain alert. Does that answer your question?"

… He really had it all worked out.

But that didn't excuse the fact that L was still eating cake for breakfast.

* * *

"Morning, Light, Ryuzaki!"

Light swivelled his chair to the left to see Matsuda bounding towards them, looking like an eager puppy; Light could easily imagine a tail whipping from side to side behind his colleague. "Good morning," he replied.

The rest of the Task Force – minus Mogi – followed at a slower pace, a range of emotions flitting over their faces; Soichiro simply looked disapproving, Aizawa looked downright angry, and Matsuda continued to look excited for no particular reason.

It was only ten-past-nine in the morning.

"Hello," L greeted in a half-interested voice. He stared at a pile of papers in front of him, his third slice of cake of the day beside it. A forkful hovered in front of his lips as he spoke. "You are ten minutes late."

"My fault," Matsuda said, laughing nervously, "I couldn't find my shoe, then I couldn't do my tie…"

"Yagami-san drove us all here," Aizawa added.

"I see. Do try to be more responsible in the future, Matsuda. We cannot afford to waste time with Kira on the loose."

Light realised that L had said something along the same lines earlier on in the day; was it the only reason the detective could come up with, or did he really believe they could accomplish something in just ten minutes?

The new arrivals took their seats with quiet sighs and turned on the nearest computer or picked up a file to read. Both L and Light could tell that the Task Force was becoming increasingly irritated with the case and its lack of new information, but there was nothing they could do. They would have to cope until something turned up.

The only sound was the quiet hum of the computers and the chatter of the news from one of the many TVs. Light pushed back from his desk and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head to clear it. He glanced to the side to look at his father. "How're Mum and Sayu, Dad?"

"They're good," Soichiro replied, looking up from his work. "Your mother misses you. She still hasn't forgiven me for 'disowning' you," he added, frowning. "I wish I could tell her the truth."

"So do I," Light agreed.

L was frozen throughout this exchange, a mixture of guilt and jealousy rushing through his veins with the pounding of his heart. He had never known his family, and here he was depriving Light of his own… His young partner was lucky to have the opportunity to have parents and a sibling, and while L would never admit it, he wanted those things for himself. Contrary to the beliefs of those who knew him, L did have feelings; he was just very good at hiding them.

The day dragged by slowly, and the nerves of the Task Force became frayed as time passed with very little development in the Kira Case. The slightest accident of Matsuda's would make Aizawa growl at him and grow red with anger, and it was only Soichiro that could calm his colleague down; Light or L were too interested in a tiny piece of useless information to stop a fight from breaking out.

By the time the men left, Soichiro was just about ready to give up with Aizawa and Matsuda. The older of the two had been at Matsuda's throat for the last half an hour for making a simple slip-up, while the younger merely stared at his shoes sheepishly. They gladly accepted L's offer to go home.

"Make sure you're in better moods tomorrow," he added under his breath; Light chuckled when he heard, earning a small smile from his partner.

But it faded, quicker than was usual for one of L's rare smiles. Light frowned when he saw L lock away his brief show of emotion. Normally, when they happened, the detective would allow them to linger for a short while. "Is everything alright, Ryuzaki?"

"Light-kun… you miss your family, correct?"

Well, Light certainly wasn't expecting _that_.

"Sort of… I've always been quite independent. But, yes, I do miss my mother and sister. Why?"

"No reason," L said. "I was merely curious. I'm sorry I'm keeping you away from them."

Light's eyes widened slightly. L was _apologising_? What had come over him?

Still… it was nice of him to do so.

"It's fine," Light replied, offering L a gentle smile. "It's necessary, after all. I expect they're missing me more than I'm missing them. At least I know they're alright, thanks to Dad. I can see them again once we catch Kira."

"But that could be a long way away yet, Light-kun. As much as I wish it to be the opposite, it could be months, perhaps years before we arrest him." L lifted his thumb to his lips as he spoke. "I'd like nothing more than to find Kira this very moment and solve this case, but, sadly, it's impossible."

"I know," Light sighed. "What will you do when the case is over?"

L shrugged. "Find another case that catches my attention, solve it, and then it's onto the next… The Kira Case is the most time-consuming one I've come across in a while." He paused, and then added, "What about you?"

"I'll complete my studies and get a place in the NPA. Maybe we'll end up working together again one day."

"Maybe. If you're not Kira."

Light didn't know why those words sent a jolt through his chest. He crossed his arms and looked away, feeling hurt. He had to admit, he'd come to enjoy L's company, even if the detective was odd; the thought of having another opportunity to work with him snatched away was strangely painful.

"I'm not Kira," Light grumbled.

"Of course not…" L muttered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: I've noticed that two of my chapters now have started with L and Light in their room... purely accidental, I assure you :P  
Before the chapter begins, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the people that have reviewed, favourited or put _Cross My Heart_ on alert (all of the above, in some cases!):  
12tailedninja-demon, Bridget Narcissa Malfoy, Death-Note-Fan01, God-of-the-Godless, KxZ fan girl, Linzilollypop, Mookyul Kenji, Nova1991, TaeMint, not-impressed, x-Angelic-Demon-x, BeyondAverage, Miss S. Grechy, Shiorifox32, boomer4ever and Tenshi Yami- Angel of Darkness.  
Seeing a notification in my inbox telling me that someone has done one of those three things really brightens up my day! Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. It means a lot.  
Now I've finished being a happy little author, onto the chapter! **

* * *

The rest of the week passed in a similar fashion. The Task Force argued; little progress was made in the case; L ate more sweets; and Light did his best to ignore the lingering bitterness whenever L called him Kira. It really was ridiculous, that irritation, and it was pointless too. They were merely passing comments, possibly designed to make him react in a certain way if he _was _Kira, and Light refused to rise to them. It would only make L bring up the Kira Percentage, which would annoy Light more, and so on.

Besides, there was no reason to be upset by them. Why should he? Light and L were colleagues, perhaps friends – if the meaning of the word was stretched – but it didn't matter. In the end, it was unlikely Light would ever see L again, even if the NPA _did_ work with the detective on another case. L was undoubtedly a busy man.

There was one thing that made Light wish that he could stay chained to the detective.

He saw L sleeping.

Some people in the world would kill for that opportunity – and kill again when they got it – and others would simply brush it off with a 'Why do you care?' attitude.

And the minority, including Light, would find it adorable.

Not that he'd ever admit that out loud. Hell, he didn't even want to admit it to _himself._

Their shared bedroom was dark, save for the soft glow of the laptop on the desk. The screen was white with the familiar L on the screen; L had forgotten to turn it off before crouching on his side of the bed with one of the files. He'd started off rereading the information, helping himself to a bowl of toffees, when a small yawn had escaped him. L had completely ignored it, but Light had noticed. L never showed the slightest hint of fatigue – _ever._

And Light was determined to see L succumb to his weariness.

Within half an hour, L was asleep. His cheek was pressed against his knees, and the file had fallen out of his grip and onto the floor. He faced Light, but his messy black hair covered most of his face. Soft snores filled the otherwise silent room.

Light couldn't help staring; L was quite hypnotising when he was asleep. It was incredibly tempting to lift the hand that wasn't bound by the chain and brush the hair that covered his eyes out of the way. Light frowned and tore his gaze away from the detective, his right hand turning into a fist on the bed covers. What was he thinking? It was completely inappropriate.

He turned on his side, his back facing L, and crossed his arms over his chest. Unfortunately, the movement pulled on the handcuffs and made L topple to the right. He collided with Light's back and his eyes snapped open in shock. Light froze when he felt the detective's hands on his shoulders as he pushed himself upright again. Had L really been awake, and waiting to see what Light would do?

"Do be more careful, Light-kun," he muttered. Light suppressed a sigh of relief. The hands removed themselves from Light's shirt, and he relaxed a little.

Light decided it was best to feign innocence. "Huh?" he mumbled, rolling onto his back. He let his head turn to the left lazily, as if he really was just waking up. "What did you say…?"

"Please be more careful," L repeated, a hint of frustration colouring his voice. "I was actually sleeping. I need what little rest I can get-"

"I know," the younger man interrupted, sighing. "You said so this morning… yesterday," Light corrected himself, spotting the glowing red numbers of the clock on the desk; they read three-twenty-one a.m. "Sorry for waking you…"

"It's not a problem. Get some rest, Light-kun."

"You should too."

"I will try. Sleep." L slid down until he was lying on his side, and he pulled the covers over himself. "Goodnight, Light."

The fact that the '-kun' had been removed from his name made Light's breathing catch in his throat for a moment but, like when he and L had been talking the previous day, he wasn't sure why. Once it was under control again, he breathed, "Goodnight, L."

L was in half a mind to complain about the use of his name, but he didn't. He decided to let it slide just this once. The detective listened as his companion's breathing slowly evened out and watched his shoulders relax. Light didn't notice it, but there was a tense aspect to his posture that vanished whenever he was unconscious. L was one of the few people that knew this, and he was a little concerned; what burden was Light carrying that caused him to hold his body in such a way? Was something bothering him, aside from missing his family?

L was surprised that he was so worried for the boy. He didn't know that he was capable of feeling such tenderness towards one person, and it confused him. Needless to say, L didn't like to be confused.

He'd just have to work it out, then.

There would be plenty of time for that later on, though. L allowed his eyes to drift closed, and he curled up in a ball on his side, hugging his knees to his chest. It was almost like he was still sitting, which made him feel more comfortable with his attempts at sleeping. He sighed, actually feeling peaceful for once. He quickly fell into unconsciousness again, his tired body accepting the invitation of sleep eagerly.

* * *

Watari had to wake them up in the morning with a few short, sharp raps on the bedroom door, as both young men had slept in late. L was up immediately, tugging on the chain impatiently and fretting over the time they'd lost, while Light took a little longer to throw off the sleepy fog and the bed covers that weighed him down. The detective was demanding, as usual, and wouldn't let him take his time to make himself look completely presentable.

"I'm sure we will all mourn the loss of your perfectly styled hair and creaseless clothes," L muttered sarcastically when Light complained.

Thankfully, Light didn't hear. L wasn't in the mood for one of his tantrums, not when he was fully rested and ready to make some progress in the Kira Case. It certainly wouldn't boost anyone's morale if Light insisted on making snappy comments at everything they did, whether it be L eating a piece of candy or Matsuda stumbling over thin air.

L supposed he should have predicted Matsuda's reaction to him and Light entering the main room after the Task Force. "Looks like we're not the only ones that are late sometimes," the young man crowed, smirking triumphantly.

The detective suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, and instead crouched in his seat. "I was asleep, Matsuda-san. It doesn't happen often."

"Oh. Sorry, Ryuzaki."

"It's not a problem…" he murmured. Light sat down on his right; L saw him studying his reflection in the computer screen. Just to be annoying, L reached over and clicked the power button, making it whir into life. The screen lit up, rendering it useless as a mirror. Light scowled. "There you are, Light-kun," L muttered, offering him a smile. He was able to keep his expression innocent, but he couldn't disguise the humour in his usually emotionless eyes.

"Thank you," Light replied, nodding once. _I see what you're doing, L,_ Light thought, turning his attention back to the now-functioning computer. _You're playing with me, aren't you? The question is, are you doing it just because you're bored, or is it another way to increase the Kira Percentage?_

_ I guess I'll play this game, whatever it is. It'll certainly make things more interesting._

It wasn't long until Watari wheeled a cart of cakes, candy and even potato chips over to their desk, but L didn't notice; he was leaning towards the monitor of his computer, his eyes darting back and forth as he took in the information displayed to him. Light selected a vanilla cupcake and tapped L on the shoulder. The detective blinked once before looking over, his eyes widening ever so slightly.

"What…?"

Light held out the cupcake. "Here. You were busy concentrating, so I picked one out for you."

L took it warily and peeled the wrapper off with the thumb and forefinger of his free hand. "Thank you, Light-kun." He took a small bite of the fluffy treat, then nodded in satisfaction. "Vanilla. You have been paying attention to my eating habits."

"It's hard not to." The young man looked away again, intending to return to his work, but a pale hand appeared in front of his face. A second cupcake sat upon the palm, already free of its wrapper. Confused amber eyes met calm grey and, without breaking the eye contact, Light asked, "What are you doing, Ryuzaki?"

"Sharing my food with you."

"Why?"

"I'm feeling generous. You shouldn't waste this opportunity. Here." And without waiting for Light to accept his gift, L pushed the cake against Light's lips. Grudgingly, he let L to put the little cake into his mouth.

Light wasn't a fan of sweets. He liked salty things – like salted potato chips, for example – but candy… well, he just found it gross. He didn't mind it in small quantities, but too much of it tended to make him feel ill.

But, to his surprise, the cupcake wasn't that sweet. He could taste the vanilla easily, but it wasn't overpowering, which allowed him to enjoy it more. Sadly, it was gone with just a few bites. Light found himself reaching for another, but L slapped the back of his hand lightly in warning.

"No more," the detective said, sounding rather like Light's mother as he did so. "My generosity doesn't stretch that far."

Light frowned and watched with longing as L picked up the last one and popped the whole thing into his mouth. He almost complained, but then he realised something.

That was just another part of L's game. He'd teased him by giving him the cupcake, because he knew Light would like the flavour, and then L had kept the last one for himself just to annoy him.

L – 2, Light – 0.

Light knew he was right when he saw L grinning at him, his mouth still full of cake.

_Looks like I'll have to make my own move…_ Light hid a smirk, and darted his hand towards the trolley to snatch up a piece of candy from a bowl. He dropped it into his mouth and chewed, ignoring the feeling of his churning stomach at the sweetness on his tongue. L glared daggers at his colleague as Light swallowed.

"You should know better than to take my candy, Light-kun."

"You ate the last vanilla cupcake. It was only fair."

"You don't even like sweets."

"You don't ever share them."

Light desperately wanted to laugh when L sat up slightly and swung his chair around to face him. It was only through his brilliant acting skills that he was able to keep a straight face. His amusement fell away when L moved his hand to a second bowl, scooped up a handful of salty potato chips, and ate them.

L made a disgusted face, but forced himself to continue crunching them. "Vile," he muttered. "Absolutely no sugary taste. How can you stand it?"

Light added another point to both of their scores in his mind. L wanted a challenge, did he? Well, he was definitely going to get one. "Easily," he replied coolly, choosing some candy. "I don't understand how you can eat these, though…"

"Ah, now _those _are delicious," the detective said through a mouthful of crisps, a wistful edge to his voice as the number of remaining sweets steadily grew smaller. "But I cannot say the same for these."

The two continued to throw comments back and forth, and with each one they would consume another handful of the other's preferred food. When the Task Force realised what was happening, they stopped their activities to keep track of the pair. By the time their supply of candy and crisps ran out, Light was looking a little green and L was about ready to give up just so he could taste some sugar. Watari replenished the various bowls and plates, but this time the two young men kept to their own food, much to the old man's amusement.

While he now felt terrible, Light realised that he'd enjoyed the challenge between him and L. In fact, he had to admit that he liked L's company in general. They didn't always get along, but he could talk to L on a level that other people just couldn't match. He liked spending time with someone so intelligent.

_That's why I don't like the idea of leaving him when the case is done, _Light decided. _L is my equal, the only one I've ever had. I don't want to give that up._

He seriously doubted that L would be thinking the same thing. He was a world famous detective, after all; he had more important things to put his mind to. The small matter of a teen that couldn't decide whether he liked or hated L wouldn't concern him one bit. Knowing him, he'd probably shrug it off either way and deem it unnecessary. After all, why would he choose friendship over the lonely life of L?

Light glanced to the side to see said detective holding two marshmallows side by side, studying them intently. He seemed to be comparing them but they looked identical to Light; they were the same artificial white colour, the same size and shape and, as far as he knew, the same brand. But L nodded, as if confirming something for himself, and ate the left one first.

Light couldn't stop himself from smiling. He would miss L and his odd little quirks once the case was over almost as much as he would miss the man himself. The young man sighed and finally admitted that he was beginning to think of L as a true friend. When L had said "Light-kun is my first ever friend", Light had lied when he agreed. He wasn't sure why though… the reason escaped him… It was like there was a gap in his memory at that point. It troubled him; Light usually had a vague recollection of what he'd said or done and why, but at that point… nothing. Just nothing.

He shook it off; Light was sure he'd remember his reason eventually. But now he wondered whether he could convince L to stay in contact with him after the case… Would it be possible? Light was useful, wasn't he? He was easily as intelligent as L; surely he'd appreciate another smart mind, as well as the company that would come with it?

"Light-kun!"

Light was jolted back to the present moment at the sound of L's voice calling his name. The detective was staring at him with a mixture of concern and irritation. "What?" Light asked.

"You were staring into space. While that's fine in moderation, the case has priority over your daydreams."

Of course.

Light nodded wordlessly and returned his attention to his computer, the screen of which had long since gone black as it decided to hibernate. He sighed and clicked the mouse to bring it back to life.

He would work out what he would do as soon as he had a minute to himself to think it through; Light promised himself this. He was, after all, ambitious, and if he had the opportunity to work with L, he would not settle for a position in the NPA.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: Sorry about the wait for this one... I'll admit, I was having a little trouble with it.  
Thanks to those who have followed, favourited and reviewed so far :) Also to a friend who helped me with the second part of the chapter.  
So, uh... iShizuoMikado... how 'bout getting rid of that time bomb? -Nervous laughter-**

* * *

"Light!"

The young man closed his eyes at the sound of his name being called by an all too familiar girl.

Misa Amane.

The other members of the Task Force – including L – sighed quietly or scowled at the table as Misa threw her arms around Light from behind him. L glanced over, the stick of a lollipop poking out from between his lips, as the girl proceeded to shower Light's face with kisses. There was unmistakable amusement in his dark eyes.

"I missed you so much!" she trilled, moving back long enough to gaze at him lovingly. "You haven't been to see me in ages! It's been over a week." Misa stuck out her bottom lip at her boyfriend.

"We've been working, Misa," Light replied, his voice level despite his irritation. "You know the case is more important."

"More important?" She wailed, sitting on Light's lap. He saw L smirking out of the corner of his eye, crunching on his sweet quite contentedly.

"Yes, it's more important," Light said, "it's the Kira Case."

"Can't you take a break?"

"It's not my-"

"Yes, of course he can," L interrupted. He'd wiped the smile from his face and simply stared at them with a blank look. It had been three days since he and Light had challenged each other with their food, but Light had the feeling that L wanted to revive the battle. "Light-kun must spend time with Misa-san; it is how a boyfriend should act. Perhaps you two would like to watch a film?"

He was cut off as the excited blonde leaped on him, hugging him fiercely. "Oh, Ryuzaki! You really are nice!"

"It took you long enough to see it," L muttered. Almost daintily, he lifted his left hand – he refused to return Misa's hold; L wasn't the hugging type – and removed the lollipop stick from his mouth, placing it on the desk. The candy part of it was long gone. "I can ask Watari to bring us up some snacks if you like."

Misa drew back to stand beside Light, crossing her arms. "'Us'? You're still not coming on our date, are you?"

L held up his right arm in answer; the chain jingled innocently. Misa pouted again, but didn't say anything else.

The three of them went to Misa's room, where she was offered a range of films by Watari, who had also brought up a tray of sweets, drinks and cakes for them. Misa picked a DVD and held it out to Watari eagerly. He took it and went to set it up, while Misa joined Light and L on the couch. Light found himself between the two of them, much to his dismay, but he realised the other two wouldn't have tolerated it any other way. L proceeded to hug his knees and eat popcorn that was too sweet for any normal human, and Misa grabbed onto Light's right arm and would not let go.

He wished he could disappear into nothingness when he heard the dreaded words: _"I'd never given much thought to how I would die. But dying in the place of someone I love seems like a pretty good way to go."_

_Twilight_.

Sayu had made all of the Yagami family sit together to see as many of the films she could get her hands on before, and one viewing was quite enough for Light. He'd had enough of sparkling vampires after only five minutes, let alone several hours.

Misa leaned forwards and rested her chin on her hand, still keeping her other wrapped tightly around Light's elbow. He sighed and looked away; he didn't want to watch this film. He was sure it would destroy whatever sanity he had left. Instead, Light decided to study L's reactions.

That would've worked if L had been paying attention to poor little Bella Swan and her glittery problems.

The detective hadn't even glanced at the TV once. He was too busy focusing on his sugary food, as usual. He'd even brought a file up with him, which he had opened and started to read.

Yes, in Light's opinion watching L… be L _was_ better than Twilight.

About halfway through the film, Light noticed that L was simply staring at the cover of the file and frowning, so he leaned over and whispered, "What's wrong?"

L swallowed his last mouthful of popcorn and murmured, "I've run out of reading material, and I cannot stand this movie. It's terrible."

Light chuckled. "Only an hour to go, Ryuzaki."

L introduced his face to the file.

* * *

Light was woken in the early hours of the morning by the sharp crack of candy between a pair of teeth. He resisted the urge to grind his own as the source of the noise chewed several times… loudly. Light opened his eyes, blinking them slowly as they adjusted to the dim lighting of the bedroom.

Wait… it was _lit?_

The flickering glow came from behind him, so Light rolled over to see what it was. He expected L to have a laptop on his knees, as usual, and he wasn't disappointed.

He didn't quite predict the exact image he _did_ see, however.

Light stared at the picture that presented itself to him. For a moment, he wondered if he was having a horrible nightmare. L _did_ have his laptop with him, and he had earphones in his ears. He stared at the screen with fascination and… eagerness? Feeling concerned, Light leaned over to sneak a peek at what L was watching.

_No way,_ was Light's first thought.

_He can't be,_ was his second.

_New… Moon…?_

L was watching the sequel to _Twilight._ _What on earth…?_ Light couldn't even begin to try to understand the situation. Instead, he asked the same question that any sane person would be thinking. "What the hell are you _doing_?"

L held up one finger for silence, even though Light had finished asking his question. He paused the film, removed one earphone and finally looked at his younger colleague. "I wished to know what happened next, obviously, Light-kun. That is why most people watch the next film of any series."

"But…" Light was at a complete loss, so he simply decided to say what was on his mind. "It's… _Twilight_."

"I'm well aware," L replied, rolling his eyes. "I also wanted to see just what young women like about these films. While it's unrealistic, it's… addictive." He didn't seem all too eager to admit it, and Light could understand why. It was aimed at _teenage girls_, not adult men!

"Light-kun, I have a question for you." Light made a grunt that was halfway between 'I'm listening' and 'I couldn't care less', but, sadly, L took it as 'Please go on'. "Team Edward or Team Jacob?"

The young man sighed exasperatedly, covering his face with his hand. "Do I have to answer that?"

"Of course."

"Then Team Switzerland," he replied, while silently thinking _Team Edward._ There was no way he would admit that, though. Agree with L _and_ admit to having paid attention to the films?

Not a chance in hell.

"Why?" L seemed genuinely confused. "Edward is obviously the best choice for Bella."

"He's too protective," Light sniffed. "And Jacob makes bad decisions in _Ecli-_"

"Please do not reveal anything, Light-kun. I will not appreciate any spoilers."

Light couldn't believe it. He wouldn't.

And yet…

It was so weird and so… not L, that it had to be true. Light pinched the back of his hand to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Yep, it hurt alright.

"Ryuzaki," Light began, attempting to keep his growing exasperation out of his voice, "you said that you were going to work on the case after I'd gone to sleep, not watch _New Moon._"

L raised an eyebrow. "Don't I deserve a break? You know as well as I do that the case isn't going anywhere. I've read all the information we have several times over, and I've considered every possible solution I can, but despite it all, we've gotten nowhere. It's only natural that I'd want to take some time off, isn't it? And what other way have I got to entertain myself while you rest?"

Dammit, he had a point.

"You still could have chosen a better film," Light growled, crossing his arms.

"Perhaps, but I'm determined to see this series through until the end now." He paused, then added, "Would you like to borrow an earphone and watch it with me?"

Light shook his head. "No thanks. I'd rather not watch any of them. I need to sleep." As he spoke, he curled up on his side with his back facing L. He hissed when the chain pinched the skin on his wrist, and while he adjusted it, Light almost missed the other man's quiet reply.

"Shame… you'll be missing out, Light-kun…"

_Missing out on what?_ Light almost said, but he kept his mouth shut; no doubt L would proceed to lecture him on the possible positives of_ The Twilight Saga,_ even though they both had much better things to do than watch films for girls. _Really, he should know better_, he added in his head. A barely audible click from behind him told Light that L had selected _Play _to continue watching his terrible film.

At least Light wouldn't be bothered by-

_Crunch._

… It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Light woke up tired, irritable and about ready to punch L.

His sleep had been interrupted by the constant sound of sweets being eaten, the soft buzz of noise from L's earphones, and the jingling chain that trapped his skin between the links. He knew that, if this pattern of sleep continued, he'd soon have shadows under his eyes like L's.

That was unacceptable, just like L's sudden fascination with _Twilight._

So, Light decided to confront him.

He planned it out beforehand; he'd do it in front of the Task Force, and hopefully they would side with Light. He knew his father would, maybe Aizawa and Mogi… Light didn't know about Matsuda. Possibly, if he was lucky. There was obviously no hope of Watari joining him, and Light didn't count on it. But if he could get the majority of the Task Force to back him up, maybe he'd get his way, for once.

"Hey, guys!" Matsuda chirped as soon as they joined them in the main room. "You look tired, Light."

He barely hid a smirk. _Thank you, Matsuda!_

"I am," Light replied. "I've been having trouble sleeping, thanks to Ryuzaki. He's been keeping me awake."

"Not intentionally," L muttered. He was already in his seat, one hand searching through a bowl of toffees. "I don't do it on purpose. Light-kun is simply overreacting, as always."

"You're always awake when I'm trying to sleep, either making noise or lighting up the room with your laptop," he retorted, crossing his arms. "It would do us both good to get a full night's rest. Even _you _would benefit from it. Maybe it you tried to sleep through the night, you'd find it easier to rest in the future."

"I'm not going to apologise for my habits – which I don't choose, mind you – and I won't try to change them, because I know it won't do any good. Insomnia isn't something you can stop by simply clicking your fingers, Light-kun."

"But it's worth trying." Light glared at the back of L's head, wishing the detective would admit defeat just this once. "It's affecting us both now. If we're both tired, the Task Force won't be nearly as productive."

"It's not like we are already…" Aizawa pointed out. "How long have we been here now? Around a month, and we've done nothing except find a few things here and there."

"Because we're missing something," Light said, "and if we're tired, we'll have even less of a chance of finding it."

"He's got a point," Matsuda added, raising his hand as he spoke. "Light, I mean."

L dropped a wrapper on his desk, still keeping his back to everyone. "Matsuda-san, Light-kun isn't explaining very well. He still gets to sleep; I'm not forcing him to stay awake. The amount of rest I get is my own problem, and he shouldn't bother himself with it. He has been more concerned about our welfare than the case… and while I won't deny that his lack of sleep will have a knock-on effect, he should remind himself that there are other people on this Task Force who are just as dedicated as him, and more experienced."

Light couldn't believe it. L was almost treating him like a child that thought the world revolved around him. He started to give an angry retort, but L raised a hand. All he said was "Light-kun," but it was obvious what it meant: _'Don't protest; I'm right, you're wrong. End of story.'_ "Everyone, please get to work," L added. There was a slight pause before the members of the Task Force took their seats. It was almost as if in their time working with L, they had forgotten that he was _the_ L, the legendary detective. But now that they had been reminded, they simply tucked their tails between their legs and did as they were told.

They might be sort-of friends with Ryuzaki, but it was out of the question with L.

Light sat to the right of the detective and, childishly, he moved his chair away and crossed his arms. The chain was at its full length, held aloft by the distance between them.

Conversation between the members of the Task Force slowly filled the otherwise silent room, but neither Light nor L spoke.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: I might not be able to update next week, as I'll be away through all of half term... but, then again, I might be able to.  
To everyone who has favourited, followed or reviewed... thanks! I can't explain how happy I am to see that people actually _like_ this.**

**iShizuoMikado: Mwahaha! Didn't see that one coming in the last chapter, did ya? :P (-Whispers- Please don't explode me!)  
Hey it's Amanda: Just... wow. Thank you! Your review really made me smile :)  
SarySoda: I agree, L's eyes are quite cat-like.  
Clouddoodles: Phew, glad you think so.**

**Now, enjoy :)**

* * *

Over a week had passed since Light had failed at his confrontation with L. The two of them barely spoke any more than was necessary anymore, and while the Task Force encouraged them to forgive and forget, they refused for two reasons:

First, both of them were too stubborn to apologise.

And second, just like most things between L and Light, it had become sort of a challenge; who could tolerate the other's silence the longest? Who would be the first to attempt to retrieve their friendship?

What it came down to was which one of them cared the most about the warmth that had been between them?

Apparently, they both cared more about their pride.

But, despite the irritation that still lingered, Light missed his friendship with L. He was the one person Light was on the same level as, and it was a shame to lose that. Light doubted that L felt the same way about it, but part of him hoped that he wanted it back just as much as he did.

There was still the matter of apologising, though, and Light refused to admit that it was his place to do so. L was the one who had started it with his stupid habits, not Light! He kept a normal sleeping pattern, unlike his friend. There had to be _something_ L could do to try and help himself… However, Light was sure L wouldn't do it; he was too dedicated to the case to sleep, despite the total lack of new evidence they had. Where the rest of the Task Force despaired, he persevered, and Light had to admit that he admired him for it.

Light was startled out of his thoughts when he heard L say his name repeatedly; he glanced over, his face settling into the cool expression that had become his mask whenever he spoke to L nowadays. The detective didn't look at him, and instead directed his words at his cup of tea. "Light-kun, while it has only been a week, I have received demands for another date from Misa-san. They are becoming quite distracting, you know. Perhaps we should schedule one at least once a week to keep her quiet."

"That sounds like a good idea," Light sighed. He, too, was becoming annoyed with Misa's constant pleading for time with him, which he simply couldn't spare. While the Task Force had nothing to work from, the case required as much attention as they could give it in order to find new evidence, if possible. "I don't think I could sit through any more films, though…"

"Me neither. I'm over my brief _Twilight_ phase; I have to say, the ending was quite disappointing."

"You watched them _all_?"

"As many as I could get my hands on, yes. I also read the last book; it didn't take long."

"… That takes dedication." Light noticed that he and L were easily slipping back into their old selves, and he allowed himself a small smile. "I've only watched them once - aside from last week - and that was because Sayu made me."

L made a sound of agreement as he sipped his drink. "I don't think I could do it again. Now that I've finished them, I can happily say I don't know what teenage girls find fascinating about them. It lost its appeal after a while, for me."

"It does for most people, Ryuzaki, so that doesn't surprise me," he chuckled. "Anyway, what has Misa got planned?"

"She requested a dinner this time, Light-kun. It's a good thing Watari-san is a good chef; I think she'd be disappointed by anything else."

"Yeah… what time are we joining her?"

"In about an hour. That gives us some time to try and find _something_."

Light nodded and turned back to his computer, a small smile tugging at his lips. He was glad that he and L were starting to get over their fight, but he knew it wasn't over yet.

After all, he was still being kept up at night.

* * *

Light stared at his plate of food for something to do, barely noticing what he was eating. He was sat at the end of the long table in the dining room, in a similar position to the time when he watched _those_ films with Misa and L, with his girlfriend was on one side, and his colleague on the other. While Light and Misa had food that he was sure was very delicious in front of them - he wasn't really paying attention to the taste - L had simply gone with a slightly fancier slice of cake. A candle flickered on the table, casting its warm glow over the three of them. Conversation had long since died away, leaving an awkward silence behind.

"Well, this is nice," L said.

Light was certain that L was trying to be particularly annoying to Misa, and it soon became apparent that he was correct; Misa looked up at L with a glare, and she swallowed her food before replying. "It's not meant to be for _you._ You shouldn't even be here! This is a-"

"Yes, I'm well aware, dates are for you and Light-kun," he sighed. He took a bite of his cake before continuing. "But that doesn't change anything. Why do we always have to end up having the same conversation over and over, Misa-san?"

Misa sunk down in her chair and muttered under her breath. Light only just managed to catch the words, "Because you're stupidly stubborn." L didn't appear to have heard, though, as he didn't reply. No doubt if he had, he would've given her a scathing retort that would've ruined the entire date.

Not that Light really cared.

He rested his chin on his hand and tuned out the sound of L and Misa's bickering with a barely contained sigh. Misa was acting just as childish as L by encouraging him into an argument – Light could see the mischief playing in his friend's eyes as he gave her witty replies.

Nobody surprised him out of his daze this time, and Light was glad that he'd been able to daydream in peace, but when he heard what Misa and L were discussing, he wished he'd stayed there.

"Light's _my_ boyfriend, Ryuzaki, not yours!"

Light supposed he should've seen what L was going to say by the smirk on his face. He should've known the detective would try to irritate Misa even more, perhaps even gain a reaction from Light that he could put towards the Kira percentage. He should know L well enough by now to expect _very_ odd little remarks that even seemed a bit out of character for him.

"Do you have proof for that, Misa-san?"

Light choked on his food at the words and the implication behind them, hunched over his plate and started to cough. Misa squeaked with fear and fluttered around Light uselessly, crying, "Light! Light it's ok!" He seized his glass and gulped down the water inside it. L reached over and patted him on the back, which had no effect whatsoever. Once he was no longer in danger of dying, Light shrugged off his friend's hand and turned a furious glare on L. "What the hell?"

He blinked back at the young man innocently. "What do you mean?"

"Why did you say that?"

"I was honestly asking Misa-san if she had any proof either way. I didn't mean anything by it. One must learn to find evidence to back up one's statements."

And, looking completely unfazed, L went back to his cake.

Misa leaped out of her seat and seized Light's arm, stroking his shoulder comfortingly. "Don't listen to him, Light," she murmured, pouting. "He's being stupid again. And _gross_. As if the chain wasn't bad enough…"

"I'm still here, you know," L muttered.

Misa ignored him.

"He was messing with you, Misa," Light said at his normal level of volume, "just don't let what he says get to you. You should expect these things from Ryuzaki; sometimes he doesn't know where to draw the line." He shot the detective a glare, but it didn't bother him. He merely blinked at the couple.

Two blinks in the space of five minutes. That had to be a record.

"I hate that chain!" Misa sighed, frowning and crossing her free arm over her chest. "It keeps us apart!"

_Thank goodness,_ Light thought, a little guiltily. Misa was pretty and had her heart in the right place, but… she just wasn't what Light wanted in a partner. Truthfully, he had no idea what he _did_ want in a partner; he just wanted someone to hold an intelligent conversation with. Good looks would be a bonus, too. If only Misa could see that Light wasn't all too happy being in their relationship, it would make things easier for them both.

But, sadly, that wasn't possible; she refused to understand that Light wasn't interested.

"It's necessary," he replied exasperatedly, "we've told you that many times. Once Kira's been caught, it'll be gone," Light promised.

"If Kira isn't you," L added quietly.

Both of them blanked him this time. L scowled at his cake.

"And then we can go on dates again, with just the two of us!" Misa clapped her hands and beamed at Light.

"Well, I still have college to finish-"

"But you'll have free time, which we can spend together!" Without waiting for Light to speak up, she turned on L, her eyes alight with excitement. "When we all of this be over?"

He shrugged and kept his gaze on his fork. "I don't know. We haven't even made much progress yet… It will be quite a while before I can even allow you both to leave the building…"

"Ass," Misa sniffed.

L rolled his eyes. "I'm doing my job. I have to be thorough. Speaking of which, can we finish up here? We have other things to do."

"We haven't gotten anywh-"

"We can still try, Light-kun." While Misa busied herself with adjusting her dress, which had wrinkled up when she sat on her own seat again, L gave Light a pleading look. _Please,_ it said, _let's go!_

Light gave L a tiny nod and then turned to Misa. "He's right. I'm sorry, we really need to find a link somewhere in the case…"

The girl stared at her boyfriend with wide puppy dog eyes. "At least stay for dessert!"

L's expression brightened. "Yes, Light-kun, at least stay for dessert."

Light _seriously_ wanted to facepalm.

The two boys collected slices of cake for each of them – a large second one for L, who smiled innocently at Light when he was given an exasperated look – and the three of them actually made attempts at conversation this time. Misa continued to shoot scowls at L, who pretended to remain blissfully unaware in return. Light gave up on his cake after a few forkfuls and offered it to the detective, who happily added it to his own plate.

Light came to the conclusion that if Kira didn't get him, L was going to die of diabetes before long.

* * *

By the time the day was over, Light was ready to curl up on the spot where he was standing and go to sleep. He wanted to forget the whole Misa and L incident or, if that failed, pretend it never happened. L, however, seemed quite at ease with bringing it up again.

"This afternoon was wonderful, wouldn't you say, Light-kun?"

Light stopped outside of their bedroom and simply stared at L. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you got to see Misa-san again, and it was a lovely meal-"

"You only ate cake," the young man pointed out.

L smirked. "Of course. I don't know why you felt the need to tell me that. I'm quite capable of noticing that on my own. Anyway," he continued, "it was a much better choice than watching those dreadful films…"

Light raised an eyebrow at the detective. "So now they're 'dreadful'? Whatever happened to 'interesting'?"

"I told you I'd gone off them this morning, Light-kun," L sighed. He nodded at the door and added, "Well? Are you going to open it or not? You're the one always complaining about your lack of sleep…"

Light gave L a withering look and twisted the doorknob; it swung open with a quiet click and allowed them to enter. "It's a good job you did, Ryuzaki. I don't think I could've tolerated your little obsession with them for much longer."

"I don't think I could have either," he admitted. "So, why didn't you enjoy the date? Personally, I think it was reasonably… _amusing_."

"Of course you would," Light muttered, scowling. "Why did you say that to Misa?"

"Which part? I said several things to her."

"The part about her _needing proof_," he snarled. "What a ridiculous comment to make!"

"It was a _joke_; really, I don't see why you're so upset about it. You're being over the top, as always."

Light could practically feel their already tentatively rekindled friendship being tested once more, so he decided to end the argument; he didn't want to go back to the week of silence from L. The Kira Case was boring enough, and Light certainly didn't need to lose the friendship between the only other person who was his equal in the building.

So, instead of thinking up some reply that would no doubt snap the bond between them again, Light shook his had and muttered, "Sometimes, I really don't know what to do with you, Ryuzaki. Try not to say something like that again, ok?"

L smiled mischievously. "I'm making no promises."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: Progress. How I love that word. -Sighs happily-  
I have to say, I absolutely love you guys who are sticking with this fic. :)  
Oh, also, I've had an idea that's going to extend the plot _massively._ I'm planning a sequel, and possibly another two fics for this. That's how long the plot goes.  
Mwahaha.**

* * *

Dancing.

That one word sent shudders down Light's spine. Despite being the most sought after young man in his college, Light hated having people up close and personal with him. He usually made his excuses whenever there were dances or parties that he was invited to and, thankfully, his fellow students left him alone. Because of this, he hadn't danced in years, and while he might have been fairly good once, he doubted he could do it now.

So how the hell did Misa expect him to dance with her, especially with a detective chained to his wrist?

Apparently, she thought he could make things happen with a click of his fingers. Because Light was _totally_ magical like that.

Light stared at his girlfriend's back as she skipped away after leaving him with a suit. She'd cheerily announced what was going to happen without even asking Light if he _wanted_ to dance. He blinked once, pinched his arm to make sure he wasn't having a nightmare, and then resigned himself to the fact that, yes, it was all real.

"Is something the matter, Light-kun?" L asked, peering over at him from his seat.

It had been several weeks since they'd made up; L had kept true to his word about Misa having a date every week, and around two months had passed since the Kira Case had started to lose momentum now. L had conveniently forgotten to tell Misa just what the limits of the dates were, and she'd picked up the ridiculous idea of dancing from somewhere. Light could see amusement dancing in L's grey eyes as he glanced from Light's face to the firmly closed box on his lap.

"I don't dance, Ryuzaki," Light replied, directing a glare at the cardboard that concealed the suit from prying eyes.

If the suit hadn't been protected by the box, it would probably have burst into flames from the strength of Light's stare.

"What a shame. Misa-san will be very disappointed," L said. He tried to sound sad, but the chuckles he was struggling to contain made his lips turn up at the corners. "Why don't you dance?"

"I just… don't." Light didn't want to explain himself, but he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to keep his reasons from L for very long. Either he would have to give them up willingly, or the detective would weasel them out himself.

"Come now, Light-kun; there must be _something_ that makes you dislike it."

"I haven't danced in years," the young man sighed, looking away in embarrassment. Light Yagami was meant to be perfect, but he couldn't do _that_. "I can't do it anymore. I don't like it."

L simply looked at Light, a slight frown on his face. He made a "Hm," sound of thought as he raised his thumb to his lips. "I'll admit, I didn't see that one coming…"

"That's why I didn't want to admit it."

L's eyes drifted down to the cupcake held between his fingertips and, seeming as if he was just stating a fact or figure, he murmured, "I learned to a long time ago, and it's rare that I forget something, even if it's as trivial as that. Perhaps I could teach you."

Light's eyes widened with surprise, but he stayed silent as he thought it over. He knew Misa wouldn't be moved on her vision of the pair of them twirling across an imaginary dance floor, and he didn't want to make a fool of himself. Sadly, L was his only chance at keeping his pristine image of Light Yagami, star student; he didn't have enough time to teach himself.

Surely it wouldn't do him any harm?

And so Light found himself facing L in their room after the work day had finished, waiting for the first instruction. He would be meeting Misa for their date the next day, which gave Light only one evening to learn. L had his back to Light as he fiddled around with his laptop. A few moments later, music began to float through the room. L shuffled over and straightened his shoulders.

"Now, Light-kun, I assume you know the basics?" L raised an eyebrow. "Like where to place your hands?"

"… Who's playing the girl here?"

L sighed. "Pretend I'm Misa-san."

… Well, that certainly didn't help matters.

Hesitantly, Light placed his hands on L's waist as the detective wrapped his arms around his neck. The chain was stretched between them, the only barrier between their bodies. Light tensed, his horror of dancing dashing to the front of his mind. He froze when L leaned forwards a little, their cheeks brushing ever so slightly, and quietly said, "Relax, Light. I won't bite. Just follow my lead."

L moved Light through a few simple steps, then tilted his head to the side, waiting for a reaction. "Well? It's not so difficult, is it?"

Light cast his gaze to the ground. "I don't know… I still don't particularly like it."

"Practice makes perfect," was his quiet reply.

The longer Light and L danced, the more at ease they became, until they were actually starting to enjoy themselves. The music gradually increased in volume and power, until the two of them were spinning back and forth in the small space they had. Light felt as if he'd been dancing for a long time, instead of not at all.

As the piece reached its climax, something seemed to crackle in the air between them. Both would look back later on with confusion and slight embarrassment, but in the moment the thought didn't occur to either of them. They were almost one in the final few minutes before they came to their senses. The last note of the music hung in the air, trembling, signalling its end.

Light and L were breathing heavily from the exertion, their faces inches apart. They didn't move away, but neither did they progress. Light swallowed – he couldn't tell whether it was from nerves, anticipation or mere weariness – as he realised he could feel L's breath fanning across his cheeks. A strange feeling coiled in the pit of his stomach.

But then L took a step back, his hands dropped to his sides, and he turned his face away. "And that, Light-kun, is how you dance."

* * *

Light and Misa's date went as expected. They danced, L stood beside them chewing his thumbnail and commenting idly on trivial things, and Misa squealed over how romantic it was.

The only problem was, Light couldn't help noticing how odd holding Misa felt after dancing with L.

It was wrong, and he knew it, but the thought was there and it wouldn't leave, no matter how hard he concentrated on Misa's petite frame in his arms. Her hands behind his neck weren't quite the same as L long, cool fingers pressed against his nape. In the days that followed, Light begged whatever gods there were for a distraction.

And, finally, they answered.

L had started to become quieter and quieter as time went by, and now he was hardly motivated at all. He wasn't used to having a case move this slowly, and it didn't do anything to help his mindset when they did.

The detective was perched on his chair, his hands gripping the back of it tightly. He rested his chin on his knuckles and frowned slightly, appearing to be deep in thought. Light was doing his best to ignore him, both so he didn't disturb L's intelligent mind and so he could also concentrate on the information he was trying to take in.

But then he noticed something that L needed to see.

He lightly pulled on the chain to get L's attention. "I know you're not into it, Ryuzaki, but come over here for a second, and look at this."

L swivelled his chair around and, lifting a hand and placing it on the desk, he rolled himself over to Light in one motion. He peered over the younger man's shoulder, a dull look still on his face. L's proximity made Light's heart flutter in his chest for a moment; the closeness certainly wasn't helping him to forget what had happened between them.

"Look at the sudden growth on the chart… And the change here…" Light pointed at various parts of the computer screen and didn't explain further. L would easily be able to work out what he already had.

The detective placed the tip of his index finger between his teeth as a smile started to form on his lips. "Light-kun…"

Light chuckled. "Are you ready to get to work now?"

L put his free hand on Light's shoulder and stood up slightly, leaning forwards to get a better look at the screen. Light was pretty sure his heart was going to beat its way out of his ribcage soon. L, however, didn't seem to be bothered. "If this is connected to Kira, then punishing criminals may not be the goal of _this_ Kira…"

"That's what I thought," Light agreed. "It's possible Kira's only killing criminals to camouflage what he's doing for money."

Letting the hand at his mouth fall to rest on his knee, L murmured, "You once said that if an adult were to gain this power, he or she would use it for their own benefit in some way… This pattern would fit that. However," he added, "as Kira and the Second Kira existed at the same time, this could be yet another Kira. I'm impressed, Light-kun. Well done for noticing this."

Light's eyes flicked to the left, towards L, before settling on the screen again. "Thanks."

They both ignored Matsuda, who had decided to join them, and his hesitant, "I helped a lot, too, Ryuzaki…"

"I only worked it out because of this new system that lets us access police, public and media data all over the world," Light admitted. "At first, I didn't know what to look for, but I started with the idea that Kira was in Japan, and did my research based on that.

"It's a fact that most of the murders are done in Japan. When you compare the deaths with media coverage, it's clear that Kira gets his information from local Japanese sources," he explained. "Since Kira kills with heart attacks, I thought that there might be some deaths we haven't been able to blame him for yet.

"So I searched for all the people who have died of heart attacks up until now, even those who aren't criminals. If we were in any other position, that would be a lot of work, but the system made it much easier." Light clicked a few icons on his computer to bring up one of the important findings.

"I helped as well," Matsuda repeated.

Neither of them paid him any attention.

"I was going to carefully examine every heart attack victim over the last five months," Light continued, "but I quickly noticed three suspicious cases. Two could've been a coincidence, but three was incredibly unlikely. Look."

Displayed on the computer monitor were three names: Roppei Tamiya, Kouji Aoi and Takeyoshi Moriya. Light gestured at the screen and said, "All three were in important positions in the Japanese business world, and all three died of heart attacks. So then I searched their companies, Sekimaru, Aoi and Yotsuba, respectively. Yotsuba's stock has been rising steadily, while the other two have plummeted."

"I see…" L murmured. "So then you did further research into other deaths involving people in the business world…?"

"Yeah, and look…" Another click, and a new sheet of information appeared onscreen. "There have been thirteen deaths that have been beneficial to Yotsuba in only three months. For the other companies, only two or three were beneficial. Besides those three earlier, the rest died by accidents or disease. One committed suicide, and two others who were corrupted were killed this week by Kira."

L pulled on Light's shoulder to move himself closer to the desk. His face was much too close to the screen, but he made sure Light could still see. "These three months… they were after you were put in confinement. It's the time when the killings stopped and then resumed… That is most intriguing…"

"That's true," Light agreed. "But what do you think? I can only conclude that Kira is supporting Yotsuba."

"But if that's the case…" L began, trailing off.

"Yeah…"

"Kira can kill in ways other than heart attacks…"

* * *

Light and L were sat opposite Matsuda and Aizawa on the sofas in the main room of Headquarters. Aizawa, who was studying a sheet of their findings, said, "You're right, this is suspicious. For this many people who are against Yotsuba to die…"

"I've heard of big business sabotaging each other," Matsuda offered. "They'll do anything to get ahead."

"Nobody would do that these days," Aizawa replied dismissively.

"But Yotsuba _is_ doing it," L murmured. He bit his thumbnail absentmindedly and added, "The question is whether Kira is behind it or not…"

"Ryuzaki, you think this is Kira's work?"

L resisted the urge to roll his eyes – really, _he_ thought it was obvious, given that heart attacks were_ by their names_ – and said, "It's three cases of heart attack, so it's possible. But my reasoning can be wrong, so don't put much faith in me…"

Light frowned and elbowed L, turning to look at the detective. "Don't be like that, Ryuzaki. The investigation wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for you."

"I'm sorry…"

"So Yotsuba has hired Kira to help them?" Aizawa asked, trying to bring the conversation back on track.

"Kira being hired is unthinkable." L voice was firm, and left no room for argument. "That would mean that a company was able to find Kira before I could. That's not possible."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow and leaned forwards, leaning on his elbows. "You just said not to put faith in your reasoning, but now you're confident. Which is it?"

"I was sulking earlier," L replied, waving a hand to close the matter. "Even if it's a big business, I can't imagine Kira helping them after being discovered. I'd expect Kira to immediately kill the person who found him. A more realistic theory is someone in Yotsuba knows Kira, or has the same power as Kira."

"But what if Kira went to them? Maybe he thought he'd need money for something in the future? It's worth looking into." Aizawa rested his chin on the palm of his hand, his brow furrowing in thought. "But it would be difficult to infiltrate a big business like Yotsuba…"

"Watari is pretty well respected in the business world, but…" L hesitated before continuing. "It would be dangerous for him to go in alone…"

The detective got to his feet in one quick movement, leaving the others to follow at a slower pace. He started to walk back to the desks and Light followed closely, before the chain could pull at his wrist. "Yagami-san should be back from the NPA soon. We can decide how to attack then, but for now, let's see what we can do…"

Duties were divided between the four of them – well, between Aizawa, L and Light. Matsuda struggled to find something he was capable of doing, so he just hung around like a lost puppy – and they got to work. Just as L said, it wasn't long until Soichiro and Mogi returned, and Matsuda greeted them eagerly and explained the Yotsuba situation. It turned out that Soichiro and Mogi had some interesting news of their own, too.

"I've just heard from the Director that Kira has started bribing politicians," Soichiro told them.

"It must all be connected!" Matsuda crowed. "This is going great!"

"That should help with getting more people on the investigation, too," Aizawa agreed. "Did the Director get approval?"

But Soichiro shook his head. "It's the opposite… The police have officially given up on the Kira Case." Expressions of shock passed over the remainder of the Task Force, but Soichiro wasn't finished yet. "Mogi and I talked it over, and he seems determined to stay here. Aizawa, Matsuda, if you want to continue working on the investigation, you'll have to join us and resign from the NPA."

Mr. Yagami bowed his head as he continued. "We're no longer able to work on this case as police officers… I was told we would be fired if we continue to work with L. They might have been threatened by Kira, but that's the decision that's been made."

"And you're really going to quit, Chief…?" Matsuda asked quietly.

"Yes," Soichiro replied. "Each of you has your own life, so take your time to decide."

So far L hadn't said a word on the matter, but now he spoke up, albeit softly. "I think you should all go back to the police. I was alone in the beginning. Almost every police officer turned away when the threat of losing their lives became reality… With the support you have given me until now, I'll be able to continue the case alone. I swear, one day I'll return to you all with Kira's head."

Light should've felt over the moon. He should've been pushing his father out of Headquarters so quickly he'd trip over. Freedom from the one person who had taken everything away from him was so close he could almost taste it.

But he didn't want to leave L.

Something in him detested the idea now, rebelled against it, fought it. It was repulsive. Light couldn't imagine leaving L to work on his own, not when he'd been with him for so long.

And besides, they'd bonded. They were friends. Light didn't want to abandon his only equal. If a week of silence from L had been bad, Light couldn't imagine what a lifetime of it would be like.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: Phew! Quite a bit of the book in this chapter, I'm afraid. I'm starting to worry I'm going to run out of Book 5... I still don't have Book 6 :/ I need to get it _really_ soon.**

**Thank you again for your lovely reviews :) Especially Clouddoodles (I'm glad to hear you like the idea of a long plot!), Willowtm (You're too kind!), TheBanditAristocrat (Thank you :) ) and Breaking-Benjamin-rules (To be honest, sometimes I don't know what's going through my head when I think of his ideas :P).**

**I do hope you enjoy this chapter (despite its lack of my own material) and I'm sorry for the wait.**

* * *

The Task Force stared at L with mixed expressions of surprise, Light among them. However, the young man was hiding a stronger emotion, one he didn't want to let anyone else see, because it didn't make much sense.

Anger.

He was _furious_ with L. He couldn't explain it but, damn it, what he'd said pissed him off! After all the Task Force had been through with him, he was telling them to leave? Of course, it didn't apply to Light, as he was still a suspect, but everyone else…

It was almost like L was acting like an ungrateful child who didn't get what he wanted for Christmas.

"Ryuzaki," Light began, controlling his voice; he could feel the anger that was simmering away in his chest clawing its way up into his voice, and he didn't want it to affect him. "As long as I'm around, you won't be alone. Don't forget about this." He rattled the chain for emphasis.

"Of course," L agreed. He kept his gaze focused on his knees, as if they were the most fascinating things in the room. "You will remain with me until we catch Kira, Light-kun. But the rest of you should return to the police."

"Ryuzaki, you're the one who said you needed the help of the police for this case," Soichiro rumbled. Light was relieved to hear his father speaking up; Soichiro was always calm, collected and reasonable, not to mention the most experienced officer on the Task Force.

"That's because I was aiming to maintain a connection with the police," the detective explained, now picking through a bowl of cherries, "and I thought pursuing Kira as an organisation would be more effective. Like during the Sakura TV incident, for example…

"Two or three civilians who have quit the force do not count as the police. And if the police have decided to stop chasing Kira… then forget about it." Finished speaking, he popped two cherries that were joined at the stalk into his mouth.

Soichiro spoke hesitantly, nervous about arguing with someone higher up than him, but he ploughed on. "It's true that if we quit the police we won't be of much help to you… but what about our feelings? We've come this far, risking our lives in the process." He took a step towards L without realising, but the detective didn't mention it. "I think we deserve the right to make this decision ourselves!"

To everyone's surprise, L replied with, "You're right. Please choose."

He also pulled the cherry stems out of his mouth, and Light was a little impressed to see that they'd been tied into a knot.

Of course, he'd never admit that. He would have to add it to the list of Things Light Yagami Will Never Tell Anyone He Thought At Possibly Inappropriate Moments.

The Task Force exchanged glances and stayed silent as they thought it over. Barely any time had passed, however, when Aizawa said, "Chief, if we quit the force to go after Kira, that means we're unemployed… what do we do about the future? As Matsuda said, you and I have a family. I don't feel that I can sacrifice them for…"

When words failed Aizawa, Soichiro raised his eyes to the ceiling. "The future…" he murmured. "I haven't thought about it much… I guess after we catch Kira, I'll just have to find a new job."

Matsuda's response was instantaneous. The excitable young man thrust his hand into the air and cried, "I'll quit the force and go after Kira, too, Chief! I've finally been helpful since some of my data pointed to Yotsuba's involvement. I have my job as Misa-Misa's manager anyway. Besides," he added, grinning foolishly, "it'd be pathetic to quit before we catch Kira!"

"Matsuda!" Soichiro said sharply. "Watch what you say!"

He ducked his head, apologising quietly and feeling awkward. _I always put my foot in my mouth like that…_

"Ryuzaki," Aizawa pleaded, "can't I continue on the investigation on my own time _and_ return to the force?"

L didn't even look over his shoulder. "If you're going back to the police, then please do not come back here," he said around some more cherries. "With the way things are going, I will have to treat anyone with the police as an enemy."

Aizawa struggled to find a way around that, but when he failed, he tried something else. "Can't I monitor the police's movements for you?"

"Of course, you are free to go after Kira by yourself, but we will not share our information with you. If you want to tell us something, contact Yagami-san." L lifted his teacup to his lips and sipped it cautiously. Finding that it was suitably sweet, he took a longer draught.

"You're right, Ryuzaki… I'm sorry…"

"I have nothing against a detective risking his life to go after Kira, but I cannot see it as a good decision to lose your job and make your family suffer. Dying in the line of work is heroic, but dying while unemployed is stupid."

_Well_, Light thought, _L has a heart… sort of._

"Nobody will blame you for quitting, Aizawa," Soichiro agreed, placing a comforting hand on his colleague's shoulder.

"But you have a family, too, Chief…"

Soichiro shook his head, smiling wryly. "We are in completely different situations. My own son was suspected of being Kira. I can't turn back now… my ego won't allow it."

"I haven't given up on the theory that Light-kun is Kira," L muttered, but nobody paid him any mind.

Aizawa ducked his head, and when he spoke his voice shook a little. "It's not fair… I've come this far, prepared to die at any time… If I quit now, how will I ever be able to face Ukita…?" He trailed off when he mentioned his old friend, who had died near the start of the investigation.

Surprising everyone, the computer in front of L beeped. "Ryuzaki?"

"Yes, Watari-san?"

"In the beginning, you had me make preparations so that everyone on the Task Force and their families would be financially secure no matter what happened. Why aren't you mentioning that?"

"This is not the time or place, Watari-san."

"My apologies."

L scowled and didn't attempt to explain himself or show them his face; he simply kept his attention fixed on his cup of tea. He supposed he should've seen this coming at some point... it was inevitable that that particular fact would find its way into the open sooner or later.

"Wow…" Matsuda gasped. A smile suddenly took over his expression, and he bounded towards Aizawa excitedly. "This is great! As long as you're ok with giving up your job, you can continue to work on the Task Force!"

However, his eagerness soon faded when he realised Aizawa was beyond caring about the title of detective. That didn't really matter to him anymore.

But his pride did.

L had lied. Again.

"Ryuzaki…" he growled, "You were watching to see which I would pick, weren't you?"

Soichiro and Matsuda immediately leaped to L's defence, while trying to placate Aizawa at the same time. They fell into silence, though, when the detective raised his voice over the noise. "No. He was right. I was testing him."

"Ryuzaki," Light said softly, lifting a hand to place it on L's shoulder, but it was batted away gently. L flicked his eyes over to Light's, and the younger man saw a look in them that said, _Don't interfere, please._

"Fine," Aizawa spat. "I'm quitting. I'm going back to the NPA! I was leaning towards going back to the force anyway… but Ryuzaki decided it for me. I hate him, and his way of working!"

"I've heard worse," L replied dryly. "But I like you, Aizawa."

"I also hate how you can say stuff like that! I'm going, I can't take this…"

As the door slammed shut behind him, L quietly said, "Take care."

* * *

It took a while for the Task Force to continue as normal after that. Soichiro, Mogi and Matsuda seemed shaken by their colleague's reaction; while they'd all known Aizawa could let his temper get away from him sometimes, they'd never seen him do _that_ before. They certainly never thought he'd react like that in front of L, let alone _to_ him.

The detective in question didn't show any particular signs of distress, unlike when news of Ukita's death had reached the Task Force. However, Light noticed that L's chin was resting on his knees, his hands were folded on his stomach, and he was making no attempt to work. It was likely that he was merely deep in thought, but Light decided that that wasn't the reason for his behaviour.

If he was feeling normal, he would be working away frantically to uncover more evidence against Yotsuba. He would be making plans and even thinking through them to every possible outcome.

He would also be demanding more cake from Watari, even though he'd probably consumed more in the past week than a person usually did in a year.

Light hesitantly poked L's shoulder to try to gain his attention, but all he received was a soft 'Hmph'. He tried again; L only blinked. On the third attempt, he finally looked over. "What is it, Light-kun?"

"Are you alright, Ryuzaki?" he asked quietly.

L frowned and returned his gaze to the desk. "Of course. You know full well that that's a ridiculous question. I'm perfectly fine. I'm just thinking. And you distracting me doesn't help," he added when Light opened his mouth to speak.

"Excuse me for caring," Light snapped, turning back to his computer.

When L replied, Light had the feeling that he wasn't meant to overhear. "You are a good person, Light-kun…"

Light was touched, but dread curled in the pit of his stomach, twisting in to make a home alongside the feeling that hadn't left since he and L had danced. Why did he have the distinct feeling that L was wrong? It was a stupid thought, but it wouldn't leave, no matter how hard he tried to throw it out of his mind.

Scowling in irritation, Light leaned forwards to study a sheet of information he'd already read twice.

It was distracting, and it was what he needed.

* * *

Matsuda summed up everyone's thoughts with a few sentences two days later.

"It sure is lonely with one less person… It's sad with such a large building… Plus, Mogi hardly ever speaks…"

As usual, everyone ignored the poor guy.

"I found another one, Ryuzaki," Light said, tugging on the chain a little to stop L from eating his cake. Unfortunately, L had long since realised that holding the fork with his right hand would prove too tempting for Light to leave alone, so he'd switched to his left instead. Light's little plan was ruined, but L still switched his point of focus from his dessert to Light's face.

"September 10th; slipped and fell at his home and died from a head wound. Junichi Yaibe, Iidabashi division manager for Otomo bank. He was scheduled to take over as president next month. He was known as the best man in the Otomo organisation.

"And three days ago, the Otomo bank company director, Tokio Yakoa was caught for embezzling. He hasn't been arrested yet, but if the recent pattern continues he'll be killed by Kira or commit suicide soon… At this rate, Yotsuba will surpass Otomo and become the country's largest bank…" His speech finished, Light pulled in a deep breath and sat back in his chair.

Soichiro made his way over slowly, as he was glancing between several sheets of paper in his hands as he walked. "September 10th was a Friday, right?" There was a slightly excited edge to his words as he spoke. "We've overlooked something simple… The deaths convenient to Yotsuba are concentrated on the weekend."

Settling on one page in particular, Soichiro continued, "The accidental deaths were scattered at first, but now they're more between Friday and Saturday. This includes the three heart attacks Light first noticed."

"Great work, Chief!" Matsuda cried, staring at the older man almost reverently. "Light and Ryuzaki hadn't even noticed that!"

Soichiro, however, looked rather embarrassed. "How many times have I told you to stop calling me 'chief'?"

"You'll always be the chief to me," Matsuda chirped, beaming.

"That's odd…" L murmured, chewing on his fingernail. "How the deaths are concentrated on the weekend…"

He seemed to be talking to himself, or saying his thoughts aloud, but it was also to help the Task Force. If they found something in his musings, then it certainly wouldn't be unwelcome. "If these deaths are connected to Kira, that means Kira can kill in ways other than a heart attack… If that were the case, he'd spread them out randomly to make them harder to detect… Is there a meaning behind this? Is this not Kira's work…?"

"Well done, Dad!" Light praised, looking over his shoulder to smile at his father. "I completely missed this."

"I'm not ready to let you and Ryuzaki get all the credit," he chuckled.

L suddenly sat upright – sort of – causing the others to fall silent. "We don't know if Kira is _in_ Yotsuba or if he is _using _Yotsuba, or whether he is even involved. However, we will investigate under the assumption that this is Kira's work. Therefore, we will investigate Yotsuba _thoroughly._"

A sudden thud made Matsuda yelp in surprise and grasp at the desk in order to stay upright; Mogi had dropped a pile of paperwork in front of L. "I've completed the list of Yotsuba's employees, home and abroad," he said shortly, before returning to his seat.

"Thank you, Mogi-san. You've saved us quite a bit of work." L took the first few sheets to read, muttering, "Over three-hundred-thousand… It's amazing that Mogi-san could complete the task so quickly. Great work. Mogi-san has always been surprisingly efficient."

Matsuda started to speak, but he was cut off by the ringing of his phone. Misa's cheery voice came through the speakers, informing Matsuda of his latest job as her manager. Sounding a little put-out, Matsuda said his goodbyes and stalked over to the elevator, his shoulders slumped.

Nobody even noticed him leaving; they were too engrossed in the new information. "The number of employees is staggering," Soichiro commented, "and just look at how many industries they're involved in. Where do we start?"

"If only we had more people," L murmured wistfully.

Light's father agreed, but instead he said, "It would be difficult to increase our numbers now. I can't imagine many police quitting the police to join us."

"We can use the police," L replied firmly. "If an officer came to us, we would have to assume he was a spy. Which is why… Watari-san? Can you please contact Aiber and Wedy? There is already a level of trust between us, and I would rather explain my thoughts to them face-to-face."

"Aiber and Wedy?" Light asked, raising an eyebrow.

L's smirk was almost mischievous. "They're… _friends_ of mine, in a way." He chuckled, and then corrected himself. "Well, if I can call anyone a friend, other than Light-kun."

Light couldn't stop a small smile from gracing his features.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Ok, so I guess I'll just reply to some reviews here, since all I can say about the chapter is that I'm pleased with it:**

**DeathandMayhem:** Here you go! ;D  
**LifetheNinetails:** Thank you very much :)  
**Clouddoodles:** I never really liked Light when he was all... you know... Kira.  
**Breaking-Benjamin-rules: **Now you can find out :P  
**Hey it Amanda:** Thank you!  
**lolgreeness:** I'm glad you do, because this is going to be long, indeed.  
**bloodbull:** Lol, that was actually accidental, but thanks for pointing that out xD Hetalia's a great anime!  
**Glaistig: **Your wish has been granted, my friend.

**Now, enough of me, and enjoy.**

* * *

Light's first impression of Aiber and Wedy was _smooth._ There was a confident stride to their walks as they strolled into the Task Force Headquarters. They were dressed pretty smartly, but also in a way that was casual. Light could easily imagine a flashing neon sign above their heads with the words _Yeah, we know we're cool_ written across it.

"I'm Aiber," the man said, the corners of his lips twitching upwards in a half-smile. "I'm a conman."

"Wedy, thief," the woman added in a dull tone, as if she wasn't really interested.

Soichiro's brow furrowed, and he turned to L with a troubled expression. "A conman and a thief…?"

"Yes," L replied simply. Light gave him the look that said _If you don't elaborate, you're not getting any cake._ The detective sighed and gestured towards the two new arrivals.

"Aiber is an expert when it comes to languages, psychology, and personality transformation. He possesses the skills to blend into all levels of society, and can always forge a strong bond with his target. We'll use him to get close.

"Wedy is a thief who can get past any lock, security system or vault. The proof of her skills is that she was able to get into this building without any of us knowing.

"They're both seasoned criminals."

"We'll be working with _criminals_?" Soichiro growled. Wedy raised an eyebrow and made a _hmph_ sound at the contempt in Soichiro's voice.

"They're slightly different from the criminals Kira pursues, though," L muttered; he couldn't say he cared for Soichiro's tone. "These two are pros; they're only known in the underworld. I also know of others who could help us if needed. Of course, none of them want to show their faces, and I will only show mine to those I trust. Some of them would have to live here with us. I couldn't really use this tactic when we were connected to the police, but now…"

L gnawed on his fingernail nervously; the members of the Task Force who had previously been with the police appeared to doubt whether this was a good idea. He knew that if he didn't get the support of his fellow investigators in this matter, he would have to ask Aiber and Wedy to leave. It would only disrupt the Kira Case if most of the Task Force didn't get along with just a couple of the members, and he couldn't afford to have that happen.

"I understand."

L blinked in surprise. Light agreed? That would be a step in the right direction... His grey eyes moved from Soichiro's face to Light's and, thankfully, the young man nodded slightly as he thought. "These kinds of people will be helpful in the Yotsuba investigation."

"Exactly." L let his hand fall back to his side, and when he spoke this time, his voice rang with a kind of authority. _This_ was what everyone imagined L to be like, not the insomniac with a sweet tooth. "For now, Aiber, Wedy, we will continue looking into Yotsuba without arousing suspicion. I will let you know when you are needed. You are most welcome to stay in the Headquarters, if you like."

Aiber nodded, a smirk on his lips. L never ceased to amuse him. "What's your alias this time?"

L chuckled. "Ryuzaki."

"Nice…" Wedy murmured, tilting her head to the side. "This one suits you. You've used it before, right…?"

"Yes, but it was a while ago. It shouldn't be recognisable by now."

"Lucky for you," she commented. "What do you want Aiber and me to do?"

"You are welcome to stay here or explore Headquarters. Whichever you prefer."

"I'll hang around in case anything interesting happens," Aiber said, helping himself to one of the sofas. Wedy joined him, lighting a cigarette as she went. The heavy smoke curled into the air and formed shapes around her head, drifting through the room and causing the odd member of the Task Force to cough slightly.

As the Task Force returned to work, L reached out and caught hold of Light's sleeve between his forefinger and thumb, tugging it gently. Light almost pulled his arm away in surprise, a confused question on his lips, but it died when he caught sight of L's face.

He was… _grateful._

"Thank you for your help," L murmured, holding Light's gaze without blinking. This was normal for the detective, but when he was looking at Light _like that_… Light almost had to lower his eyes, it felt so intense. No doubt if anyone interrupted them, they would think they were having a 'moment'.

"With what?" Light asked. He was proud that he managed to keep his voice steady; his heart was pounding in his chest. Damn it, why was Light feeling like this?

"For backing me up," L said simply. "Without your support, I doubt the Task Force would have accepted Aiber and Wedy."

Light shook his head, partly to try to clear it – his attempt failed – and to disagree with the detective. "I'm sure they would have eventually…"

"But I needed confirmation today. So thank you."

L released Light from both the force of his stare and his hold, and promptly sat down on his chair.

Light stood there for a few seconds, his mind whirling, until a small part of his brain decided it would be best to take a seat so he didn't draw attention to himself. He dropped into his seat heavily, making the wheels on the bottom rattle. L raised an eyebrow, but Light ignored him.

_What is this…?_ Light wondered. _This reaction… L wasn't even trying to cause it, as far as I'm aware… Does he even _know_ what he's doing? _

_ But more importantly, why is it affecting me this much?_

* * *

The Task Force was taking a well deserved break – well, sort of. L had allowed them to slow down their work for a while, until someone found something of importance, but then he would insist on bringing the whole group back up to normal speed.

Light was taking full advantage of one of these calmer periods. He rested his chin on his hand and stared into space while L occupied himself with a slice of cake.

_When I went to Spaceland with Yuri, the bus was hijacked and shots were fired by Kiichiro Osoreda, the man who had robbed a bank the day earlier… He then jumped out of the bus, got hit by a car and died… Another person on the bus was the FBI agent, Raye Penber… It's possible that Osoreda was controlled by Kira to make Penber reveal his name._

_ And Penber's fiancée, Naomi Misora. She's still missing. I met her around New Year's Day. I don't remember the conversation, but we _did_ discuss the Kira Case. She mentioned that Kira could kill by means other than a heart attack._

Light leaned forwards in his chair, moving without noticing. His thoughts were completely focused on Misora.

_I never noticed this before, but Penber and Misora were important people in this case… And _I _was on the bus… Is it possible that I could be…? Is Ryuzaki right…? No, it can't be._

_Ryuzaki…_ Light's mind seemed to sigh. _There's no mistaking this… this _feeling._ Ugh. Of all the people in the world, I had to... like _him._ I could always ignore it-_

"Light-kun?"

Light swallowed his yelp of surprise when he realised just how close L's face was to his own. His stomach felt a little weak; he almost frowned when he noticed this.

_No. There's no way I can ignore this. I'll either have to just acknowledge it and leave it, or…_

_ … act on it._

"Why the serious face, Light-kun?"

"Just tired…" Light murmured. _Tired of being confused. Tired of not knowing what to do._ "I've been staring at a monitor all day. I hacked into the Yotsuba computer, but there's nothing there about Kira. I didn't expect them to leave any evidence, though."

L leaned across Light to peer at the computer screen, and Light watched him with wide eyes. Considering what he'd just admitted to himself, L's proximity certainly didn't help matters. "I'm impressed. With these skills, Light-kun, you could easily hack into the police system."

Light was simultaneously pleased and irritated by the 'praise'.

_That was to help solve the Kira Case, not because I am Kira! It's true, I _have _hacked into Dad's computer, but…_

"How can you still say stuff like that, Ryuzaki?" Light asked. He was annoyed with himself when some of his hurt leaked into his tone. "You can suspect me all you want, but you can't ignore what's going on in front of us."

"You're right. I'm sorry." L touched Light's elbow as he apologised.

Light wanted to hit his head on the desk.

"There's no mistaking that catching Kira will lead us to the final solution of this case," L continued. His eyes flicked up to Light's, a question in them, but before he could ask it, one of the other computers made the alert sound, signalling Watari's call.

"Ryuzaki?"

"What is it, Watari-san?"

"The detective Eraldo Coil has been asked to uncover L's identity."

As if Light needed even more reason to confirm his... _feelings_ for… for _L_, his blood turned to ice at Watari's words. If the world found out who L was…

… Kira would kill him.

L, however, didn't seem bothered by this. He even looked amused by it! Light was about to make a comment on this when Watari spoke up again, his voice ever so slightly jerky from the connection of his computer to this one.

"They went through two agents to try to keep the client secret, but I've determined that the request came from Yotsuba's Tokyo office VP of rights and planning, Masahiko Kida. One-hundred-thousand dollars up front, and one-million-four-hundred-thousand upon completion."

L nodded thoughtfully, his thumb finding its way to his lips. "Well done, Watari-san."

"So it _is _Yotsuba…" Soichiro growled.

Without thinking, Light said, "Yotsuba isn't what we should worry about." He directed his gaze at L, who pretended not to notice.

"You're right," Light's father agreed. "Eraldo Coil is one of the best detectives in the world, aside from L. He'll take any job as long as the money's good…"

Light stepped into L's line of view, so he couldn't avoid looking at the younger man. "If they find out who you are, they'll kill you." The distress in Light's voice and expression was plain; in his concern for L, Light couldn't hide it, and he didn't even notice he was acting in that way. All he knew was he couldn't stand it if L was at risk.

"There's nothing to worry about," L replied quietly, in an attempt at a soothing voice. "Eraldo Coil is also me."

Light sighed in relief - ignoring the fact that he felt like a bit of an idiot, even though he couldn't possibly have known about Coil's true identity before - as L went on to add, "The top three detectives in the world, L, Coil and Deneuve are all me. Please don't tell anyone, though. People who try to uncover me usually fall for this. Watari-san is the contact for Coil and Deneuve, so it's obvious."

"Nice one, Ryuzaki," Light praised.

He was taken aback by the warmth in L's eyes when the detective murmured, "Thank you."

Resisting the urge to clear his throat, Light searched the list of Yotsuba's employees to find Kida. He was thankful once again for the system which allowed him to find the man in seconds. "Here he is," he announced.

Soichiro looked over his son's shoulder, a frown creasing his face as he studied Kida's profile. "I find it hard to imagine that a VP, even for Yotsuba, would be able to move money around that easily. Could this mean that he's Kira?"

"I don't think we can be sure about that." Light shook his head.

"Really? Kira could get money in a number of ways. Probably just with the fact that he _is_ Kira."

Light scrolled through the information displayed on Kida for something to occupy himself while he thought. "That would mean that Kira would be raising Yotsuba's worth and making money off of that. But as you said, Dad, Kira wouldn't need to do that to get money."

L made a sound of agreement around the piece of candy he'd just placed in his mouth; Light found himself chuckling at that, before he trailed off.

"It would be presumptive to assume that Kida is Kira just yet," L agreed, once he'd swallowed. "Now that we've come this far, we can use Aiber and Wedy."

* * *

Aiber raised an eyebrow at L, who simply crouched on his chair, thumbnail between his teeth. "So I just have to get close to him? No problem."

Wedy blew out a stream of cigarette smoke; Light turned his face away slightly, so he didn't have to breathe it in. It usually made him cough, and the Task Force didn't need to be distracted by Light hacking up his lungs.

But, then again, there weren't many of the Task Force there. Aside from himself and L, only his father and Mogi were present. Matsuda was on a film shoot with Misa, and they wouldn't be back for a while, so they'd simply continued without him.

The woman tilted her head to the side. "And you want me to make it possible to get around the security system and cameras at this Yotsuba company?"

"Yes," L confirmed, nodding. "Thank you. Now, everyone, I'm sure you understand, but I'm going to go over it one more time…

"The enemy is Yotsuba, but also Kira. With the heart attack deaths and the fact that they are searching for me, it's clear that these things are connected to Yotsuba. There is no guarantee that there's only one person with Kira's power, but if we search hard enough, we'll find him.

"First, we need to uncover _who _has the power, and _how many_ have it… Assuming this power is the ability to kill with the mind as long as you know a person's name and face, it will be very difficult to discover. Also, there's a small possibility that this power travels from person to person…"

L's voice took on a sharp edge, as if by doing so he could make everything go perfectly along with his plan. "That's why we must not allow Yotsuba to work out that we are investigating them, no matter what. We must assume that if that were to happen, we would no longer be able to catch Kira."

"Investigating carefully and quietly is the key," Light added, when L paused to take a breath. "And remember, we can only arrest Kira when we have sufficient evidence to prove the existence of his power and that the suspect was definitely using it."

L smiled lopsidedly - albeit, it was a tiny smile, but it was one nonetheless. "Thank you, Light-kun. You are correct. Uncovering the evidence without being noticed is our only chance.

"Furthermore, _do not_ act out of panic or haste, or take matters into your own hands without my instruction. To make this possible, first Aiber and Wedy will-"

He was cut off by the computer's insistent beeping.

"Matsuda-san is sending a distress call from his belt buckle, Ryuzaki."

L swivelled his chair to face the screen. "From where?"

"It appears to be coming from the Yotsuba Tokyo office."

"What is Matsuda doing?!" Soichiro spat; if he ruined the investigation, when they were so close to finding Kira…

Light glanced at his father worriedly before saying, "If he's sending a distress signal, then there's a chance he's already been discovered…"

"He'll be killed," Aiber said simply.

L ran a hand through his hair, a long-suffering sigh eventually working its way out of his lungs, after he'd held it for a while. "Forget everything I just said… we'll need to rethink our plan…

"Matsuda-san, you idiot."


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: This chapter's a bit broken up, and I don't apologise for the ending :P**

**Dori:** Heh, heh, heh xD You'll certainly see it here!  
**Clouddoodles: **Indeed, on both counts!  
**SarySoda: **I'll admit, that made me chuckle when I wrote it. I can't remember where that idea came from, though, to be honest.  
**Hi it's Amanda:** Thank you so much :)

* * *

After receiving the distress call from Matsuda, the Task Force gathered around L's chair to discuss the new plan. The detective was mostly silent, however, leaving the two Yagami men to offer ideas and thoughts. Aiber and Wedy stayed back from it; they were completely unconcerned with the affairs of the Task Force. They were only there because L had asked them to help. He hadn't said anything about planning, so they didn't help.

"Matsuda is supposed to be watching Amane all the time," Soichiro said, "so does that mean that they are both in Yotsuba?"

"Who knows?" Light muttered.

"When Matsuda-san is outside, he only carries identification as Amane-san's manager, Taro Matsui, correct?" L looked up from his hands, turning his gaze on Light, but it was Soichiro who answered. Light was glad; he had to take a second to collect his thoughts again after his eyes met L's. He had to wonder, did the detective suffer the same effect as him?

He almost missed what his father had said while he sorted through his mind. "Yes, we make sure of that," Soichiro confirmed.

"Yagami-san, please call Matsui's mobile," L continued, holding out his hand.

While his father dialled, Light turned a worried look on his friend. "Ryuzaki, isn't that dangerous? They could-"

"I'll be fine," he replied dismissively. In a softer tone, L added, "There's no need to worry, Light-kun."

The dull ringing tone played as Soichiro handed his mobile over to L; Light attempted to clear his head of the sort of pleased feeling that had appeared at L's words. _I'm starting to think like one of those girls that used to follow me around at school,_ he thought with disgust.

Someone picked up the phone on the other end. Without waiting to see if it was Matsuda, L put on an odd voice and called, "Yo, Matsui! It's Asahi!"

Light's mouth fell open in surprise. _What in the world…?_

There was a pause as the person who had the mobile took this in. "Oh, Asahi. What's up?" Matsuda's voice replied eventually. A sigh of relief went through the Task Force before L silenced them with a wave of his hand.

"Oh, doesn't sound like you're outside," L said, sounding disappointed. "You at home already?"

"Yeah."

"You alone?"

"Yeah… I'm home alone." Matsuda laughed nervously. If his anxiety was clear from the poor speakers of the mobile, it would be obvious to anyone in the same room as the ex-police officer. "Why d'you ask, Asahi?"

L didn't answer. He covered the mouthpiece of the phone and glanced over his shoulder at Soichiro and Mogi; he assumed that Light knew what the exchange between him and Matsuda meant, but he wasn't as sure about the abilities of the older men. "Matsuda-san and Amane-san have been separated. Matsuda-san is in Yotsuba by himself."

He removed his hand from the phone and began speaking again. "You wanna go out drinking tonight?"

Light had to hide his face behind his sleeve. The urge to laugh at L's act was almost overpowering.

"Huh?" A flicker of unease passed over L's features before Matsuda added, "Oh, no, I'll pass."

"Don't tell me your wallet is _in trouble_ again?" L complained.

It was a wonder the members of Yotsuba weren't getting this; Light had long since decided that Matsuda was being watched, if L was putting on that act.

Matsuda laughed. "Yeah, you know me! I'm totally broke. Ha, ha!"

"He's in trouble," L muttered to the Task Force. He gave Matsuda a hasty farewell, and then handed Soichiro his mobile back.

He then placed his hand on Light's wrist; his fingers wrapped around it, resting on the inside of it lightly. The young man's heart hammered against his ribcage in surprise at the contact. He swallowed before meeting L's gaze.

"Light-kun, please contact Amane-san's personal phone."

"Right…" Light shook off L's hold to retrieve his own mobile, which had been given back to him when he was released from confinement. He never used it anyway, but it had been nice to have it back.

Light grimaced at the cheery message that met his ears: _'Hi, this is Misa-Misa! Please leave a message!'_ "No good," he told L. "She's not answering. She must be filming." He moved the mobile back to his ear again and said, "Misa, it's me. Call me back when you get this."

He hated that he sounded like the boyfriend he was.

He detested the fact that L made him feel bad for that.

He was annoyed that his thoughts on romance now flicked back to L, without fail.

"What should we do, Ryuzaki?" Soichiro asked, missing his son's troubled expression. "Looks like Matsuda's alone, and by the sound of that call, he's being watched."

"Yes, it appears he's in trouble." L paused, trying to decide whether what he wanted to say was acceptable, but then he went ahead with it anyway. "Although, if Matsuda-san dies, it will substantiate the suspicion against Yotsuba."

When he was met with an awkward silence, L had to admit that it was a _bit_ inappropriate for him to talk about his colleague's possible death so easily.

"Any drastic actions now will make them notice us," he continued, ignoring his slip-up. "We'll have to wait and see for now."

* * *

Light's ringtone was practical; it alerted him, and that was all. He didn't have some band's music blaring from the speakers, or a character from a TV show quoting a random line. No, his was boring, but it got the job done.

"It's Misa," he announced, getting the Task Force's attention. L's gaze became fixed on Light instead of the toffee he held in his hand. Light ignored the uncomfortable feeling of having everyone watching him and answered it.

"Misa, it's me. Where's Matsuda?"

She replied with a particularly over-the-top sigh. "Him? That jerk. He just suddenly ran off around three. I don't know where he went. I can't get back into the building without him; I'm just stuck out here…"

Light was about to reply when Misa added, "Oh, speaking of, Matsu just called my work phone. Hold on…"

"Hold it so I can hear," he told her. Light grimaced when he realised he'd have to relay the meaning to the Task Force.

Matsuda's voice was faint, but just loud enough for him to hear. "_Misa-Misa, filming is done for the day, right? Come over to the Yotsuba Tokyo office, it's really close by taxi. Just ask for… Hatori from marketing; the security guard should let you through. You might get to be in a Yotsuba commercial!"_

Misa gave a delighted squeal; Light moved the phone away from his ear quickly to avoid the pain that would inevitably follow. "Yotsuba is that super huge company, right? Wow, Matsu! And here I thought you just ran off! I'll be there soon!Did you hear that, Light?" she cried. "I might be in a Yotsuba commercial!"

Light had never made it a secret that he didn't care for Misa - she didn't get it purely because she was so _oblivious _- but he _was_ a nice guy; he wouldn't want the young woman to end up in trouble because of something to do with the Task Force. She had suffered enough already because of the Second Kira accusation, and she didn't need to have any more problems with that.

"Misa, listen carefully," Light said hesitantly. "Don't go to Yotsuba."

"Huh? What do you mean? No matter how big of a star I become, I'll always be your Misa…"

Light actually winced. _I don't want you to be__…_ His eyes drifted over to L, who was already looking at him. He felt a painful twinge of guilt. "It's not that…"

"Light-kun," L murmured, "let's have Misa-san go. We may be able to save Matsuda-san. Misa-san will do as you tell her-"

"Wait," Light interrupted. "Hold on a second, Misa," he said into his mobile. He then looked questioningly at L, who had the sparkle of an idea in his eyes.

Light had the feeling that this was going to be a plan to remember.

* * *

Well, it was certainly… odd.

The largest surveillance screen in the main room of Headquarters was filled with a busy image of Misa's room. The various members of the Yotsuba suspects were in there, enjoying the attention of other girls from Misa's modelling agency. Matsuda was becoming increasingly intoxicated – or so it seemed. The young ex-officer made his excuses and hurried out, appearing to head for the bathroom.

L was holding his mobile before Matsuda even dialled his number. Luckily, the surveillance made it possible for the rest of the Task Force to hear him, so L didn't need to tell them what was happening.

"These eight were having a meeting to determine Kira's next victims," Matsuda explained. "I heard it with my own ears. It's definitely them."

L seemed surprised; his eyebrows rose as he watched Matsuda's face on the camera. "Are you sure? That would be amazing if it was true. But if you overheard, then they'll definitely try to kill you."

"I figured… is there anything I can do?"

L nodded, even though Matsuda couldn't see him. "Luckily, you're still alive, so there's a chance. But for that to work, you must die before you are killed."

Naturally, Light caught on in an instant.

The Task Force… they needed a bit more explaining.

* * *

Light was seriously struggling not to laugh as he and L waited for the right moment to begin their part of the plan. They were sat in the front of an ambulance in paramedic gear, ready to act their parts at any moment, but the look of irritation on L's face…

It was difficult to ignore.

The detective was also muttering under his breath, which was only making it harder for Light. "I know we're short-handed, but for me to have to play this role... Stupid Matsuda-san..."

Light was taking the opportunity to move his wrist around; in order to make them seem like a pair of normal paramedics, L had had to remove the handcuffs. The thought of escaping didn't even cross Light's mind; it would only make him seem more suspicious and anyway, why would he want to sacrifice his friendship with L, only to be alone once he got away?

It didn't make sense.

"Light-kun," L said suddenly.

The young man glanced over at his friend. He tried to ignore the painful squeeze of his heart at the word 'friend'. Light had yet to decide what to do for his feelings for L, but he knew he would have to make a decision soon. He couldn't carry on like this. "Yes?"

But Light's phone rang again; it was the signal from Wedy. He clicked 'ignore' and put it in his pocket. He was going to tell L to continue, but the detective started the ambulance's engine and drove towards Headquarters. Light decided not to push him.

* * *

The plan went smoothly. None of the Yotsuba men suspected a thing. They believed that Matsuda had fallen to his death instead of being caught by a mattress only a few floors below Misa's. Matsuda escaped without a single injury, luckily. Misa played her part perfectly.

But Light still had his concerns. Not for Matsuda, not for Misa, but for L. What had he been planning to say in the ambulance? It was a question that Light wanted answered.

So, naturally, he confronted him about it. Last time it hadn't gone so well, but maybe it would be better on the second attempt.

When they retired to their room for the night – still in paramedic clothing – Light turned to face L. He realised that he probably looked very ridiculous in the hat, so he unstrapped it and dropped it on the large bed. Deciding to remove the whole costume, he unzipped his paramedic jacket. As he did so, Light asked, "Ryuzaki?"

A second thump told him that L had taken off his hat, too. "Yes, Light-kun?"

"Back in the ambulance… what were you about to say?"

L was silent for a long time. Light found the pause unnerving, but he didn't break it; he continued to strip himself of the paramedic costume, revealing his normal clothing underneath. When he did glance over at the detective, he saw that his friend was still dressed in his outfit, save for the tiny bit of his white shirt that peeked over the zip of his jacket.

"Light-kun… you've been acting rather oddly lately."

Light's heart leaped into his throat. "What do you mean?" He thanked whatever gods that there were that his acting skills were so brilliant. He doubted he would have sounded so normal if they were non-existent.

"It's almost like you've been ill, in a way," L explained, sounding hesitant. "Sometimes your face would flush slightly, which is unheard of in you, Light-kun. You've been daydreaming a fair bit, too. And I hope you don't mind, but earlier on today I took your pulse; it was elevated. That is some cause for concern."

_Damn,_ Light thought, his eyes widening. _I wasn't hiding it as well as I thought…_

"Or, perhaps, you are simply distracted," the detective continued. "I don't see how, though. You've been fine most of the time we've been here… I would have picked up on these signs sooner or later, Light-kun. I'm a detective for a reason."

Light was panicking. Should he tell L? Should he explain himself? Should he stay quiet? What would happen if he _did_ tell him? Would L laugh, ignore it, or – hope made Light's stomach twist painfully from nerves – even reciprocate his feelings?

L watched him, waiting. Light licked his lips as he thought things over. He had no doubt in his mind that L knew it wasn't illness. In fact, the detective probably already had his sneaking suspicions about the truth.

Light had admitted it to himself, and yet he didn't know if he could admit it out loud. Was there really a difference, though?

Yes. A _huge _difference.

L was still waiting for his answer. He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side. "Light-kun?"

Light had chosen.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: -Pokes her head out from a bomb shelter- Uh... is it safe now?  
Um... that was quite a reaction for the last chapter.  
o.o  
Here you go... -Dives back into the bomb shelter-**

* * *

Light was a brilliant actor. He could make up the most convincing lie for a teacher for a missing piece of work; he tried to make Misa happy just a little bit, since she refused to see the truth; he even hid his growing feelings of L from the very same detective. He knew of his talents in piecing together a façade and holding it in place, and he had often used them to his advantage.

Which was why he had decided on this particular course of action.

L was staring at him with wide grey eyes, looking curious and a little bit concerned. He was still wearing most of his paramedic costume, save for the helmet, which was resting beside Light's on the bed. The chain was curled in a pile on the floor, waiting to be locked onto their wrists again. Light didn't know how much longer he would be able to stand wearing the handcuffs if it meant he had to be tortured with L's presence.

"Light-kun?" L prompted again.

Light's heart thumped frantically in his chest; he was surprised L couldn't hear it. He swallowed nervously. If he was such a good actor, why had his skills suddenly deserted him? Even Matsuda would have been able to tell that Light was incredibly nervous – perhaps too nervous to answer the detective.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. L had moved closer and taken hold of Light's shoulder in a firm but gentle grip. It was like the detective's persistence; no matter how soft it seemed at first, it was unrelenting.

"Light-kun, please talk to me. Keeping secrets won't help the investigation."

Ah, the investigation. Of course. It always came back to that, didn't it? Never mind the actual people involved and their lives and thoughts and feelings.

Light finally met L's worried gaze. It was the first time he'd seen so much emotion in his friend's eyes. "I… I've… been feeling a little off, I guess," Light said. He forced himself to continue looking L in the eye; if he looked away, L would pick up on it and put it down to lies.

He considered the possibility of L seeing through his lie. It was likely L knew he wasn't telling the truth. If L wanted to be a good friend, though, he would ignore that fact.

L narrowed his eyes and released his hold on Light; the younger man used the opportunity to turn away slightly. "You've been acting it," L commented. "Perhaps you should take some time off from the Task Force."

"But what would I do? I can't exactly go anywhere."

"A valid point. I do, however, think you should take a step back so you can recov-"

"I'm fine," Light snapped, interrupting L. He regretted it instantly. A look of surprise flashed through L's eyes, followed by amusement, and then it was back to the normal emotionless stare that he had grown accustomed to. "I'm fine," he repeated in a gentler tone. "Don't worry about me."

"You're my friend, Light-kun; of course I'm going to worry."

Light didn't know why, but those words made his heart skip a beat and hurt at the same time.

* * *

When the two of them rejoined the Task Force in the main room the next day, L kept shooting Light curious glances, as if he was checking to see if the young man was holding true to his promise of 'being fine'. Light was determined to act normal, despite the shiver that went through him when he noticed L's intense gaze on him whenever he glanced over.

He was grateful for Matsuda's whining over his tiny news article, as it would distract the rest of the Task Force from Light. He doubted any of them would pick up on any of the little things that were different, though; L was the only one who would watch him that closely.

"It's so small," Matsuda complained. He pointed at a section titled 'MISA AMANE'S MANAGER DIES IN DRUNKEN FALL'.

Trust Matsuda to be worried about _that._

"I'm sure those eight would have checked it, so you should be safe now," Light told him. Matsuda nodded, looking sheepish.

L was busy in conversation with Aiber, who was leaning lazily against the desk without a care in the world. He seemed to have gotten over the crappy role of playing dead Matsuda, as he called it, because his smirk was back in place on his face as he spoke to his friend.

"Since Matsuda-san no longer exists," L said, "do you want to take over as Misa-san's manager, Aiber?"

The conman shrugged and turned away, directing his indifferent expression elsewhere. "No thanks. I have my own plans."

L had known Aiber would refuse, but it was worth a try. "In that case, it will be Mogi-san." Thankfully, Mogi didn't complain – or say anything at all, for that matter – so L could continue.

"Thanks to Matsuda-san's screw up, we can assume that among these eight," he gestured to the image on screen of the Yotsuba suspects, "one of them has a connection to Kira. Because we have so few suspects now, we can examine each of them carefully."

Soichiro huffed and crossed his arms. "If Matsuda's story is true, anyway…"

"It is!" Matsuda cried, leaping to his feet. "I heard them say they'd use Kira to kill someone!"

Light's father ignored the younger man's outburst and turned to L. "Ryuzaki, even if all eight of them have Kira's power, is it safe to assume that they cannot kill with just a person's face, like the Second Kira?"

"Yes." L nodded slightly, but his gaze remained fixed on the pictures of the Yotsuba eight. "If they could kill with just a face, I'd have a hard time believing Matsuda-san would be alive right now."

"I was really in trouble, wasn't I…?" Matsuda murmured, curling in on himself a little, a fearful look on his face.

Everyone ignored him.

The Task Force set about digging into the backgrounds of the Yotsuba eight - except Aiber, who had disappeared. L didn't seem to mind, so he must have been in on Aiber's plans - but nobody found anything to implicate any of them personally. But even from this little piece of information, L managed to work something out.

"This means that they aren't able to use Kira's power freely," L mumbled through a mouthful of ohagi. "Either way, he's assembled a group to make the decisions, so the person must be a stupid coward who can't do anything on his own."

Light hid his disgust of L's lack of table manners. The detective would never change. He had a total disregard for social rules – or was it because he simply didn't know them?

"Or perhaps they're being careful so that even if Yotsuba is suspected, _they _won't be," Light offered. He hid a snigger when he saw his father bristling at the mess L was making on the desk with his snack, but neither of them mentioned it. That was when Light noticed that the wrapper for the ohagi was missing.

Soichiro added, "So the meetings happen on Fridays, and then killings occur from Friday night to Saturday. I'd like it if we could prove that."

"I heard it!" Matsuda shouted. Light had lost count of how many times Matsuda had said that.

"That's not enough evidence," Soichiro growled, effectively brushing Matsuda off, like the crumbs L was sweeping from the table with the back of his hand.

"Right now Aiber is working to get close to one of the eight," he told them, still happily munching away. "Wedy is concentrating on breaking through the security of the Yotsuba building. If things go well, this Friday should be very interesting."

Everyone stared with undisguised horror as L poked out his tongue and peeled the ohagi wrapper off of it.

* * *

Aiber's call came sooner than expected, but the surprise wasn't unwelcome. Watari put the call through to the Task Force; Aiber's voice sounded tinny and odd through the speakers, but everyone could almost hear the smirk in the conman's voice.

"I was able to contact the eight indirectly and they're starting to trust me, although not completely yet," he drawled. "I'll be coming back to Japan tomorrow."

"You work fast, Aiber," L replied. That was close enough to a 'thank you'.

"At this rate, they'll soon be asking for my opinion and wanting to meet," he commented.

Light watched a change come over L. He must have known Aiber for a while, and considered him an almost-friend, because concern flickered in the depths of his eyes. "Please be careful. Showing yourself before them is dangerous."

Aiber laughed. "I understand, but you've saved me more than once, L." The detective stiffened when his alias wasn't used, but before he could say anything Aiber continued talking. "And anyway, with the evidence you have on me, I'm looking at a life behind bars. This is a lot more fun. That's why I can't quit being a conman. It's too... _thrilling_."

L shook his head, a wry smile twisting his lips.

"Oh, yeah. So far, I've gotten five-million off of them, but is it alright if I start thinking up ways to hand over a fake L and collect another ten-million?"

"That's fine. I'll think about it as well."

While L ended the call, Matsuda exchanged an uncomfortable glance with Soichiro. "He's trying to con them out of millions of dollars…"

"It's all part of the investigation," L said, overhearing them when he wasn't meant to.

"Infiltrating Yotsuba as Coil… that's clever of Aiber," Light commented.

The detective gave Light a vaguely annoyed look. "I don't appreciate him using one of my names like that, but I'm staying quiet because it's a good idea. It would also do him good to remember to call me 'Ryuzaki'," L added.

Watari's voice made them jump. "I have Wedy for you now."

"Put her through, please, Watari-san."

The first noise that came through the speakers was the swirl of wind from on top of a high building, and the second was an irritated sigh from Wedy. "Talk about disappointing," she muttered bitterly. "The Yotsuba security is nothing special _at all._ Just a few security guards, and that's it. As long as I know the guards' schedule, it'll be easy to plant surveillance equipment inside the meeting room."

L nodded thoughtfully, his thumb resting on his lip. "I'd like you to help the spy Watari hired and sneak into the meeting room late tomorrow night. Install the cameras and bugs then."

"On it." And with that, Wedy's call cut off.

"Things are getting so exciting!" Matsuda crowed, doing an odd little hop of delight.

Light beamed with happiness; if the investigation continued to go so successfully, he'd be cleared in no time! "If they have another meeting on Friday, Ryuzaki, it will be very interesting."

L actually smiled. It was a real, proper smile that Light had never seen on L's face before, and it made his stomach do a little flip. It suited him. "Yes," L agreed quietly. His voice was almost lost underneath the joyful conversation of the Task Force behind them, but Light heard it clearly.

He was having trouble believing that L didn't know what he was doing to Light. Surely he had to. He wasn't sure, but was that a little note of curiosity in L's eyes as he looked back at Light? Interest, perhaps? L hadn't relented with his searching looks since he'd asked Light if he was ill, but this one was a little different.

It was almost… _knowing._

Light turned away before he could read further into it. Eventually, L would find out, one way or another. He would prefer to tell L himself, instead of leaving the detective to figure it out. While he might be a stranger to social interactions, L knew how humans worked and thought.

It wouldn't surprise Light if he discovered the truth on his own. L was an expert at putting two and two together. That was why he was a detective.

Soichiro's hand grasping his shoulder jerked Light out of his thoughts; he glanced to the left to see his father giving him a wide, happy smile. It was the first he'd seen on his lined face in a long time. Soichiro constantly worried about what his job involved, and the Kira Case had only made things worse. The stress had even caused him to have a _heart attack_.

His mother would've been pleased to see the expression on her husband's face now. It was a shame she wasn't there to see it.

"We're one step closer to freedom now, son," his father growled. "You can go back to college soon, finish your education and join the NPA, like you wanted."

Light nodded and offered Soichiro a pleased smile, but inside he wasn't feeling it. His stomach felt like it was weighing him down.

L would have to know before it was all over. In fact, the sooner the better. He regretted not explaining everything to the odd detective a few days ago; it would have made things so much easier if he had. He doubted it would make a difference to L, but it was better than keeping it to himself and living with the question of 'what if?' hanging over him for the rest of his life.

Light knew that there would be another opportunity to tell L. The detective didn't give up. He persisted. He followed. He attacked. _He didn't submit._ There would be many more times to offer L the information he'd asked for before.

When one of those chances next appeared, Light would seize it and never let it go. L had to know. Light wouldn't be able to stand it if he walked away from the Task Force not knowing what L would have said.

"Sounds great," Light replied, nodding at his father. He felt more at ease now he had this plan of action; he'd felt off ever since he'd decided not to confess to L. Now the thought was in place, however, everything seemed more right.

"Your mother will be so happy," Soichiro added, his smile widening. "And Sayu, too. Sachiko said she's been asking after you. I hate having to play the bad guy in this situation…"

Light did something that surprised L enough to make the detective drop the lollipop he'd been unwrapping.

He drew his father into a comforting hug.

L stared at his friend's back. He had been under the impression that Light didn't _do _hugs, judging by his interactions with Misa.

The detective picked up his sweet, brushed it off and stuck it back in his mouth.

That changed things.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Ugh, God. Sorry. There's a lot of Yotsuba in this chapter. I needed to get it out of the way. Now that the bad news is out of the way, here's the good news: things should start to get interesting in the next chapter!**

**Thank you once again for your reviews :)**

**By the way, I'm on tumblr now if anyone's interested, under the name** theheylinhawk. **My beta and awesome friend is **pinkiepieinspace.

* * *

The Task Force was gathered before the large screen in the main room, waiting for the image of the Yotsuba eight to appear. When it finally flickered into life, there was a sigh of relief from each of them; Wedy's part of the plan had succeeded.

Seven men had taken their seats around the octagonal table, leaving one of them empty. L frowned; where was the last one…? He knew from the information they'd already gathered that it was Arayoshi Hatori, one of the younger members of the group. How odd... Before L could voice his concerns, however, one of the men called the meeting together.

"They're about to start!" Matsuda breathed, as if he spoke at normal volume the men would hear him. "We'll get to watch, thanks to my heroics…"

"Thanks to your stupidity," L muttered.

"Ryuzaki, there are only seven of them." Soichiro leaned towards the screen, frowning. "Does this mean that one of the eight has been…?"

"Yes, they probably killed him."

The bald one, Takeshi Ooi, was the one to bring the other six to order. _"For the advancement of the Yotsuba group, who do we kill?"_ The voices of the men were slightly distorted, due to the connectivity of the microphones planted in the room, but the words were not lost. Soichiro and Matsuda burst into protests at what Ooi said, but Light and L quickly hushed them; both young men were intently focused on the scene before them, and neither wanted to miss a word. It was vital that they took all they could from this.

_"Before we get to that,"_ Ooi continued, _"there are a few issues we need to discuss. Firstly: Hatori's death."_

Namikawa, perhaps one of the more intelligent members of the seven, was the one who answered Ooi. He tucked a stray strand of his hair behind his ear and sighed. _"It couldn't be helped. Frankly, I'm relieved he died." _

_"What are you saying?"_ demanded Takahashi. _"You're relieved our comrade is dead?"_

Namikawa rolled his eyes. _"It was necessary for Kira to show us what would happen if we tried to leave these meetings. I'd actually been hoping for this to happen ever since Tuesday, when Hatori said he wanted out."_

There were quiet murmurs of agreement from some of the others; satisfied, Namikawa relaxed into his seat, a smile playing about his lips. _"I think you all understand the meaning behind Hatori's death now,"_ Ooi added. _"Keep that in mind for the future._

_ "Next, onto the report we received from Eraldo Coil."_

Sheets were passed around the table. A few of the men made sounds of irritation when they saw the information they'd been given. _"This is what we paid all that money for?"_

Kida cleared his throat and read the report aloud, so everyone would be in the same place at the same time. It would make the meetings go quicker this way. _"'The Japanese police have withdrawn from the Kira Case and only a small number of government officials and high-ranking leaders know of this. Currently L is working alone with no aid from any country._

_"Judging from L's actions up until now, he will not give up on the Kira Case, even if it means working alone.'"_ L chuckled quietly at this, nodding to himself. _"'It's believed that he entered Japan once he concluded that Kira was in the Eastern region of the country.'"_

Higuchi, the one that had complained before, scoffed and dropped his copy of the report onto the desk. _"'Believed'? How about some facts? We don't know L's face or name…"_

Kida shot Higuchi an irritated look. He coughed again to pull the attention back onto himself before continuing. _"'L has a representative, Watari, who appears in his place before the ICPO and such. His dealings with the police are done through Watari's computer, and Watari has been spotted going in and out of the NPA. An investigation into Watari is under way.'"_

Light glanced at L; his friend seemed uneasy with the amount of information Aiber had seen fit to give Yotuba, but he must have cleared it all with the conman, because he stayed silent.

_"That's pretty good information for just three days."_

Once again, Higuchi was the one to dismiss it. _"Idiot, this means that even though L is Coil's rival, he knows barely anything about him. This isn't stuff he's discovered over the last three days."_

_ "Wait," _Ooi broke in. _"At the end of the report, Coil warns us not to treat L's existence lightly. Look at this: 'This pace… especially the concentration of killings beneficial to you on Fridays and Saturdays could easily be noticed by L'."_

_ "You have to be impressed with Coil," _Mido said grudgingly. _"We should spread the deaths out beyond just the weekends."_

Higuchi's attitude was beginning to grate on Light's nerves by this point. He glared at the screen when the man began to speak again, as if by doing so he could silence him. _"We've been very careful about how we've been doing things, Mido. Nobody could have noticed it. L doesn't even know that Kira can kill without using heart attacks. He can't possibly make the connection."_

"This is amazing," Matsuda murmured. "It's like they're confessing to everything!"

"Shouldn't we be able to arrest them with all of this video?" Soichiro whispered.

L stayed quiet, chewing his thumbnail. He waved his other hand to silence them.

_"Having all of the accidental deaths on the weekend could be bad."_

_ "But if we request a specific day and the situation is impossible, the person will just die of a heart attack. That's even worse in terms of connecting it to Kira."_

_ "It'd be nice if Kira spread them out during the week."_

There was a slight pause, and then Shimura leaned forward over his desk, looking nervous. _"Wouldn't it be ok if Kira just announced himself? These rules are hard to understand; it would make things easier if he explained them himself. We'll follow Kira for the rest of our lives; Hatori's death ensures that."_

The group didn't appear to agree with Shimura, though; they exchanged amused looks and annoyed glances with each other as he spoke. _"But if we knew who was Kira, you can bet someone would secretly ask to kill someone in here."_

_ "And we'd never be able to go against him; he'd always be dictating everything."_

_ "Yeah, I prefer how we have equal say now," _Ooi agreed.

_ "Kira would never reveal himself to the other members. What are you thinking, Shimura?"_ Higuchi snorted.

_"We're off topic again," _Ooi snapped. _"Back to Coil's suggestion. What are your thoughts on our pace of killing?"_

Mido was the one to reply this time. He folded his hands on the desk in front of him and glanced between the faces of his colleagues. _"The fact that Coil noticed it makes me think it's dangerous to continue at our current pace. We should be even more careful from now on."_

_ "How about we make these meetings every two weeks? And we could limit the killings to two or three a month. That's enough for Yotsuba to continue growing."_

_ "Yeah, no harm in being safe,"_ Namikawa agreed.

Ooi nodded, looking satisfied. _"Each person can suggest someone to kill to help Yotsuba, and tell the rest of us at the next meeting._

_ "Now let's get down to business: who do we kill?"_

Each of the members looked a little relieved now they were back into familiar territory. The seven of them offered different choices – people from a U.S. company that wanted to enter the Japanese market, for example. There was a chorus of 'agreed' from the others when Ooi asked them if the decision was final.

"They do it… that easily?" Light murmured, looking shocked. L's hand rested on his wrist in comfort for a moment before returning to its usual place on his knee.

_"This one was brought up by Higuchi. Santaro Zenzai of the Kugisawa group has all the locals in uproar over the proposed development. He suffers from high blood pressure, so we could probably pick a date for a stroke for him. Sound good?"_

_ "Agreed!"_

_ "Now, about the pace of the deaths…"_

Light couldn't stay silent any longer. "Kira… deaths by accident or disease… the time of deaths… It's just as we thought! There's no doubt."

"No." L's voice was firm; he didn't even glance at Light as he explained himself. "We cannot say 'there's no doubt' until the people mentioned actually die." He picked up a bowl of something that looked sickeningly sweet and scooped up a spoonful of it. "We will have to watch their movements closely. If the people who are mentioned die, we will definitely catch Kira."

"Ryuzaki!" Both Soichiro and Light cried. The younger of the two added, "I can't go along with your thinking, Ryuzaki! It's wrong!"

L scowled at them out of the corner of his eye and stuck the spoon in his mouth.

"You want to capture Kira by letting them continue to kill, but we can't do that!" Light hissed. L sighed and dipped the spoon back into his snack.

"Those seven are clearly doing the killing," Soichiro agreed. "You should be able to prove it with Matsuda's testimony and this tape. Having them kill to strengthen the case is out of the question!"

L stared into the almost empty bowl, looking both annoyed and bored. "I didn't say anything about having them kill yet." He picked up the bowl, put it to his lips and tipped his head back, so he could get the last of his sweet. Light wondered what it was; ice cream, perhaps? "But this is a problem," he continued, licking his lips. "I don't think it will be possible to arrest them unless at least one of the people they mentioned dies…

"But I don't care about that. My problem is if we catch them now, everything will be ruined."

"Think this over," Light pleaded. "The people about to be killed aren't criminals. It's clear that those seven are doing the killings!"

L was irritated, so he felt he had every right in asking, "So you believe it's alright for _criminals_ to die, Light-kun?"

Hurt flashed in Light's eyes before it was burned away by anger. "That's not what I meant! Don't change the subject!"

The two of them bristled, L about to give a scathing reply, when the Yotsuba seven caught their attention again. _"So how about Zenzai this week and the E.L.F. people in three weeks?"_

_ "Agreed."_

_ "If we're gonna spread them out, then any day is fine."_

"That means it will be between tonight and tomorrow!" Soichiro spat. "Light, we know their mobile numbers, correct?"

"Yeah, and if we use the police system, we can record the call." He reached out towards the keyboard, but he froze when a pale hand rested on his.

"The police are no good," L said quietly. "They may reveal everything to the Yotsuba side. Let's assume that we cannot trust the police."

Gathering his wits, Light drew his hand back. "Yeah, you're right…"

"But we still have to call one of them and stop the killing!" Soichiro insisted.

L turned his chair, careful not to get the chain tangled up around it, so he could face Soichiro. "Wait. If you do that, they will be suspicious of Aiber when he calls in three days. And most importantly, it's highly likely that we will no longer be able to determine which one of them is Kira. We'd have to start over again. We need proof to catch Kira…"

"Human life is more important, Ryuzaki!" Light snarled. "If Kira can kill just by willing it, evidence is going to be incredibly difficult to obtain!"

"If we're patient, we _will_ find evidence, Light-kun. It definitely exists."

"How can you be so sure?" Soichiro muttered, meaning it as an aside, but it wasn't very quiet.

Everyone was surprised by who answered him.

"Because Kira killed Lind L. Tailor and the FBI."

All four of them turned their attention to Matsuda, even Mogi, who had been silent throughout the whole conversation.

For once, Matsuda was completely serious. His gaze was fixed on the screen, and his voice was soft. "The fact that he killed Tailor, who went on TV and promised to capture him, and then the FBI agents means that if they got close to him, they would find evidence and he would be arrested. If there was no evidence, being investigated wouldn't be a threat, so they would still be alive. Killing them would be meaningless." His cheeks turned pink and he added, "Aizawa explained it once, but I only just understood it."

Soichiro nodded, looking impressed. Matsuda was finally showing that he was capable of being on the Task Force. "But we still need to save Zenzai-san. We will have to let Yotsuba know that we're onto them."

L sighed and ran a hand across his face, looking tired. "Yes, I suppose we have no choice… Saving lives is more important than catching Kira, of course…" He rested his chin on his knees and fell silent. Light hesitated; he had an idea, but whether L would allow him to do it, especially when he was so clearly reluctant to alert Yotsuba anyway…

"Ryuzaki." L flicked his eyes up to Light's. "If Kira is among these seven, am I right in assuming that if I call one of them, the odds of hitting Kira are one in seven?"

"I would say two in seven at most…"

"Then if we're planning to reveal ourselves anyway, might as well risk it on those odds." He paused, then ploughed on. "If you don't mind, Ryuzaki, I'm going to borrow the name 'L'. Based on these conversations, the one who isn't likely to be Kira but has a lot of power is Namikawa."

* * *

Namikawa's phone trilled at him; appearing irritated, he removed his mobile from his pocket. He stared at the screen for a moment with a raised eyebrow before answering - the words _'restricted number'_ had been displayed. When the phone was at his ear, Light spoke to him, using a mixer to hide his voice.

"Is this Reiji Namikawa, the head of marketing for the Yotsuba group?" Both ends of the conversation could easily be heard by the rest of the Task Force, which helped them a great deal. Light had made sure the Task Force phone was on speaker before he'd called Namikawa.

_"It is,"_ Namikawa replied.

"Listen closely without making a scene. I am L."

On screen, Namikawa's eyes widened; his soft gasp of surprise was heard through the call.

"We have cameras and bugs set up in that meeting room," Light continued, "and we have both audio and visual recordings of the recent meeting. The topics were Hatori-san's death and then who to kill next, correct?"

When Namikawa stayed silent, Light added, "If you are not Kira or someone who can speak directly to him, let's make a deal. I want you to delay the killing of the E.L.F. executives and Zenzai-san by one month. That shouldn't be difficult for you…"

_"I see… and then?"_

Light glanced at L. The detective was smirking around his thumb; he nodded at Light encouragingly.

"If you do that and agree to cooperate with us in the future, all of you who are not Kira will not be charged with any crime." He could imagine his father bristling behind him, the words _'Light, they're murderers!'_ on his lips, but he kept his gaze fixed on the TV screen.

"Revealing this conversation to the others will cause panic. There's no advantage in it for you. You'll all be captured. Also, my goal is a confrontation with Kira. Listen… if L wins, you walk free. If Kira wins, you can continue your great life." Seeing indecision on Namikawa's face, Light quickly said, "For now, just go along with both sides. You'll lose nothing, regardless of who wins."

Smiling triumphantly, Light ended the call and turned to the Task Force.

Soichiro seemed to be struggling to decide if he was pleased or annoyed; Matsuda beamed at Light; and Mogi remained as impassive as always.

"You sure are impressive, Light-kun," L murmured quietly. "What you did is similar to what I would have suggested… At this rate, if I die, you could be capable of taking over as L…"

Light's smirk slid off of his face. Was L _really_ offering him that…? He had to admit, the opportunity to be L after Ryuzaki was a tempting one indeed-

_No._

The thought of Ryuzaki dead made Light's stomach turn unpleasantly. He was vaguely aware that L was waiting for a reply, but Light couldn't make his mouth form words; his tongue didn't want to shape them. He struggled silently, both to try and force himself to speak, and to make sense of the sick feeling that accompanied the words _'If I die, you could be capable of taking over as L…'_


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's note: Hello, hello, everyone :) I do believe I owe you all a chapter. I can happily say that there's less about Yotsuba in this one. One... two... three... _cheer!_**

**Thanks again for your continued support ^.^**

**I've just finished writing and editing this, I was too excited to wait. So here you go!**

* * *

'_If I die, you could be capable of taking over as L…'_

Light's entire being replied with a resounding _NO_ before he'd even opened his mouth.

No to L dying; no to taking over as him; no to L vanishing to be replaced with someone who was a fake, not the man crouched in the chair before him. No to all of it. It wasn't acceptable _at all._

"Don't say that," Light growled, looking at the detective angrily. "You won't die, you don't need to think about things like that. Don't."

"The possibility is there, Light-kun. I could very well die at the hands of Kira, and you know it." He paused, turning his face up towards Light's. "If I die, will you please take over for me?"

Exasperated, Light seized L's shoulders and pulled the chair around to face him, the wheels squeaking in protest against the floor. He lowered his face to L's level and hissed, "What are you talking about? If we die, we die together, because of these." He shook his left wrist, causing the chain to rattle. "If you do die, I won't be around to take over, will I?"

It was then that Light noticed two things in L's usually emotionless eyes: trust and affection. They threw Light off; his train of thought ground to a halt and didn't start up again. It stayed firmly stuck, the engine cooling as it refused to get back on track. Light's hands slid off of L's shoulders, resting on the arms of the swivel chair instead. L touched one of them lightly with just the tips of his fingers. "I just want to be sure that if anything happens to me, the investigation will continue. I would hate to die in vain."

Light managed to control his expression, but only slightly; the pain at L's words, the way he was speaking about his death as if it wasn't a big deal, was evident on his features. "You're not going to die," he insisted. He found himself unable to look away from the wide grey eyes that were actually conveying emotion for once.

L simply patted Light's hand again, a sad smile on his face.

"Ryuzaki."

The sound of Soichiro's voice made both of the young men jump; Light straightened and suddenly found his shoes very interesting, while L turned a completely blasé face up to the older man. The detective couldn't decide if Soichiro had issued a warning – _"Whatever just happened, I don't appreciate that, that's my son, you're L, I don't want to see that ever again"_ – or if he really did want to ask, "If we use the meeting as evidence and capture them, won't the killings stop?"

"Unfortunately, no."

And just like that, Light's eyes were on L again, along with everyone else's.

The detective picked up a generous handful of sugar cubes for his coffee. As he spoke, he dropped them into the drink with quiet little splashes. "It's possible that one of the seven may only be _connected_ to Kira. If that's the case, capturing them will only cause them to be killed by Kira. Unless we can be sure that Kira is among them, capturing them is pointless. We can't determine who Kira is now. We need more time."

He could almost _hear_ Soichiro bristling behind him; the chief tended to do that when he was angry, and a lot of bristling had been directed at L and his choices during their time on the Task Force. He had the feeling that it wasn't a good thing that he could detect Soichiro's bristling with his back to the man. "We can't say that he's not among them for sure! Life _must_ come first! We should capture them!"

It was safe to say that L was disappointed when Light agreed with his father. The only person he had for backup was Matsuda.

_Joy_. That was so _encouraging._

In that case…

"I think I should go after Kira on my own."

Silence from the Task Force. L took it as a sign to continue.

"You can all continue to use Headquarters, and so will I. You can also try to catch Kira in any manner you wish. I will do things how I want to. It's better to split into two groups, or we'll only end up argu-"

L could have happily smacked his head on the desk when Soichiro interrupted him.

"You intend to only concentrate on uncovering whether one of them is Kira?"

The detective took a calming breath. Really, now he was seeing the sense in why he kept to himself so much. His mind didn't tend to argue with him. "Yes."

"Ryuzaki! Criminals or not, this is human life!" Soichiro barked.

L turned his chair from side to side slightly, twisting the handcuff on his right wrist in an almost nervous gesture. "I understand, but your way doesn't necessarily mean that the killings will stop."

"We should do all we can as long as there's a chance."

_Sometimes,_ L thought, _Yagami-san acts like a police officer too much. He's certainly quick to remind us that he isn't one anymore, and yet here he is… Definitely strong morals._

"Yes, your method is mostly correct, that's why I'm allowing you to go ahead and capture the seven of them. I, however, will concentrate on capturing Kira." Another handful of sugar cubes fell into the drink; by now, a pile was steadily forming, slowly turning the liquid into little more than a soggy mess.

"This case cannot be solved until Kira is caught. I can't say that stopping the killing of a number of criminals is meaningless. However, unless _all_ of the mysteries are uncovered, Kira will simply rise again. That's why I believe it's better to locate Kira than to capture these seven."

L pushed his chair back from the table and stood, unfolding his legs from his crouch. "I'm against going after the seven, so it's your responsibility, Yagami-san. I will go after Kira on my own. We have one month… it's a race." And, ignoring Light's protests and the too sweet coffee on his desk, L dragged Light away by the chain.

* * *

Once they were safely inside the elevator, away from the stares of the Task Force, L finally looked at Light. His chocolate eyes were burning with anger, and his hands had curled into fists at his side. L was sure he could hear the chain lightly tinkling as his young friend's hands shook.

"What the hell, Ryuzaki?" Light snarled. "I want to help my dad-"

"I understand, but I won't remove the handcuffs," L said firmly, pressing the button for Misa's floor. He was a little bit pleased to see that the note of weariness in his voice made Light calm slightly. At least Light respected that L's tolerance for stupidity in the Task Force was waning. The young man lifted his chin and folded his arms, still frowning.

"But-"

"No."

And, strangely, L looked up at the ceiling of the elevator, into the corner above the buttons, and nodded.

Mere seconds later, the lift ground to a halt.

Light seized the bar that ran around the edge of the mirrored walls of the elevator, a shocked cry leaving his lips. L barely suppressed a chuckle. "Thank you, Watari-san," he said to the camera hidden in the corner.

_"How long do you need?"_ The familiar voice of the old man asked from the speaker beside the door.

"We will see. I doubt it will be long. I trust that the 'power cut' has taken effect?"

_"Everything is working according to your plan."_

"Thank you."

L then turned those eyes on Light, and locked him in place with just his stare. What Light wanted to say hovered on the tip of his tongue for a moment before dying away. There was a slight pause as they were both silent, but then L went ahead, stating to Light what he'd wanted to say for a while now. He'd stopped the lift to find the answer to this, and he wasn't going to back out now.

L wouldn't leave without a result, one way or another.

"Light-kun, I refuse to believe your original answer for your odd behaviour."

Light opened his mouth, ready to give him a defensive retort, but L held up the hand that wasn't bound by the chain. "Please, let me finish."

The young man stayed silent.

"As a detective, I must know about people, Light-kun." L let his gaze wander around the small room. They rested on the tiny camera for a brief moment; Watari would witness whatever happened, but L trusted him completely. "I know how they work, how they feel, what actions or words betray their emotions." His eyes flicked over to Light for just a heartbeat before straying across the mirrors. "Your acting is remarkable, Light-kun, but I'm afraid it has failed here. You can't fool the most accomplished actor of all."

Several thoughts flashed through Light's brilliant mind at once:

_He found out how I feel._

_ He thinks I'm Kira._

_ He's decided on both. I'm going to be charged with being Kira._

_He's going to lie about... something._

Only one was correct.

"It has come to my attention that you are attracted to me, Light-kun."

And there it was. The opportunity Light had been waiting for. There was no way he'd pass it up now. He was a confident young man; he wouldn't let it slip from his grasp a second time.

He couldn't.

Light adopted a slightly challenging look. "Yes. And?"

A small smile broke out on L's face, tugging the corners of his lips upwards. He chuckled quietly. "I thought so. I'm never wrong."

Light stared at the other young man as he nodded to himself, still smirking. Sighing in irritation, he asked, "What now, Ryuzaki?"

"What do you mean?"

Surely he wasn't serious.

"Where does this leave us?"

"I don't follow."

Apparently he was.

Resisting the urge to smack his head against the wall repeatedly, Light took a moment for a calming breath before saying, "Do you feel the same way?" He had his suspicions, especially considering the way L had looked at him back in the main room. If he didn't share his feelings…

Well, Light had tried.

For a few seconds that seemed like hours, L's eyes travelled up and down Light's frame, as if he was considering him. "Yes, I do."

"So what now?"

"I don't see where you're going with this, Light-kun."

The wall was looking very tempting right about now. Light could see the exact spot where it would be introduced with his forehead.

"What do we do about it?" Light asked. It was a wonder his patience was holding out; it certainly felt like it was wearing thin. God, if L acknowledged their mutual attraction and simply did nothing about it, Light was sure that he would admit to being Kira just so he could get away from the detective. He'd accept any punishment Kira would bring if it meant he wouldn't have to face the embarrassment of _that_.

"I believe the usual solution is for a relationship to form between the two people, Light-kun." It was at that moment, when he saw the sparkle of humour in L's eyes, that Light realised the detective had known what to say all along, and that he'd just been playing with him. "If you are willing, I would like for us to reach this conclusion."

The tiny bubble of hope that had been brewing in Light's chest bloomed and soared like a bird. He managed to control his expression somewhat, but a smile still spread across his face. Hesitantly, he closed the gap between them, taking hold of L's hand and linking their fingers together.

"I'd love to."

* * *

In hindsight, L supposed he should have expected Misa's behaviour. Once L gave the go-ahead, Watari allowed the elevator to reach her floor, and they were released into her room. As usual, she cheered when she saw Light, but her face fell when she spotted L hovering behind him.

L and Light had agreed to keep their new relationship a secret from the Task Force, except from Watari; L assured Light on the way to Misa's room that his father figure would not reveal them to anyone. Watari would keep a close eye on the surveillance and block the Task Force from seeing anything between them, protecting them from discovery.

However, L found that he had a possessive streak when Misa turned eyes filled with love on _his_ partner (one thing L wasn't sure about was what to call Light in his mind, but partner sounded good for now).

L had two motivations when he asked, "Misa-san, do you love Light-kun?"

The girl's cheeks turned pink. She glanced at Light, then said, "Yeah… very much…"

Secretly, L didn't approve. He was glad Light couldn't tell how attached he was to him already. No doubt he'd have some sort of angry comment about that.

L sighed and forced himself to go on. "But you admire Kira too, correct?"

"Yeah…"

"Then who do you like more? Light-kun or Kira?"

"Light, of course!" Misa squealed. "I'm thankful to Kira, but that's not love!" She actually _threw_ herself at Light and wrapped her arms around his torso tightly. Light's eyes widened and he subtly leaned backwards, turning a slightly panicked look on L. The detective frowned. _Misa-san, you really have no idea._

"But Light-kun wants to capture Kira, Misa-san. How do you feel about that?" he prompted.

"I agree with Light," she huffed, clinging to his arm.

L could _feel_ his irritation with himself as well as Misa growing more each second. "Then if you could help Light-kun, you'd join the investigation and help, right?"

"Of course I would, silly!" she laughed.

L wondered if one's IQ could be lowered by another person speaking; it felt like his intelligence was wilting like a thirsty flower in Misa's presence. It only bloomed when Light's clever mind shone on it like sunlight.

L actually winced. He hoped this new relationship wasn't going to make him start thinking like _that_ on a regular basis. His IQ was sure to suffer if he did.

"Who am I?" L asked Misa.

She looked utterly baffled, then gave him a look that seemed to say _'Are you alright?'_ "You're Ryuzaki… I only know you as Ryuzaki. I don't know your full name, but I'd like to, but not because I'm the Second Kira or anything."

"And who is L?"

"The person in the computer screen with the 'L' on it."

There was a long, long silence. Light and L exchanged a glance. Light sighed and averted his gaze. L looked back at Misa.

"… Correct."

She punched the air. "Yes!" While Misa celebrated, the two of them turned to each other again.

L wished he'd left this meeting until later, and he could see by the way that Light was looking incredibly weary that he did, too.

_At least we're suffering together,_ L thought, a half-smile on his face again.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: Argh, I'm so sorry for the late update. I've been really busy lately (last weekend was my birthday, I've had various tests and assessments in school this week) and this chapter has been such a bitch to write. It was being really, seriously annoying. But then I forced myself to sit down in front of the laptop and write, and here we are! Chapter 14 decided to come willingly after all! I didn't have to tackle it to the Word document.**

**Thank you all once again for your support with this story :) **

**Now, I won't keep you any longer. It's taken me long enough to get the chapter up, and I'm hoping this chapter is enough to make up for my poor time keeping.**

* * *

Going to bed that night was an awkward affair, and that was an understatement. What was the proper bed etiquette in this situation? It wasn't every day someone was chained to their boyfriend - in a non-kinky way, that is - who they'd only been in a relationship with for a few hours. What did one do in this situation?

To begin with, Light simply curled up on his side as usual and decided to act as if everything was as it had been before. L seemed to be following his lead, and typed away on his laptop as usual, but then Light noticed that something was different. L was making a conscious effort to type quieter than usual. Light felt a small smile pass over his lips as he realised this.

So. The Great Detective L _did_ have a heart.

And when Light whispered "Go to sleep", instead of ignoring him, L quietly murmured "Soon" in reply. What was even more surprising was the fact that L kept to his promise; within half an hour, he'd placed his laptop on the floor and settled on his back. Even if he wasn't going to sleep, the gesture was sweet. Light considered moving the few inches needed to close the gap between them, but perhaps that was a bit much considering they'd only been in a relationship for a few short hours.

The time spent in Misa's room that day hadn't been what Light really had in mind for their first afternoon as a couple. Somehow, L had come up with a plan to infiltrate Yotsuba with Misa and persuaded her to be his friend at the same time. Light couldn't help frowning when he remembered her reaction to one thing that he had said.

_"Misa Amane's guts and her love for Light-kun are the greatest in the world."_

_ "Oh, Ryuzaki! I've been totally wrong about you all this time! Calling you a pervert and all… you really understand me!"_

_ "Yes, Misa-san is the perfect woman for Light-kun."_

Then she'd kissed him on the cheek and grabbed their hands, pulling them into a circle to dance around her room.

When Light had asked L about it in the elevator later, L had merely smirked and said, "Note that I said 'woman'. Pay attention, Light-kun."

Light had merely stared at the detective when he'd said that.

The next morning, the pair of them found themselves in Misa's company again, sadly. Light had given L a disgruntled look when he'd been told the news, but L had used that high-and-mighty voice he reserved for the moments when he was L the detective and not L the-man-who-was-Light's-now-boyfriend. "Aiber-san and I need to coach her on how to behave at her interview with Yotsuba," he'd explained.

And so there they were, stood behind Misa's sofa as the young woman watched Aiber eagerly.

The conman leaned forwards, a calculating look in his mischievous blue eyes. "Misa, you said you were going to meet Kira and left for Tokyo."

L, Light and Aiber all winced when Misa threw her arms in the air and shrieked, "_What?!_"

"Misa-san, please stop overreacting," L sighed, sounding bored. He rubbed the side of his head with a scowl; his ears were ringing from her cry. "It's cheesy, not to mention fake. Try again."

"Whatever you say, Director Ryuzaki," she muttered, clearly not intending for him to hear.

L was fully prepared. "If you don't take this seriously, I'll kick you."

The other three stared at him to see if he was joking. When he returned their looks with a blank one of his own, it was apparent that he was completely serious about the kick.

Aiber raised an eyebrow and chuckled quietly. "Is he always like this?" he drawled, looking at Light; said Yagami felt like he was being paranoid, but there was an almost knowing look in Aiber's gaze.

Light laughed quietly, a smile on his lips. It was taking quite a bit of his willpower to not subtly stand on L's foot in a gesture that meant _'behave, you idiot'._ "Yeah, he is."

The conman smirked, settling back in his chair and tuning out the sounds of Misa and L's continued bickering. "I pity Watari, then. He's had to put up with L-" the detective shot a glare at Aiber in the middle of a calmly delivered comment to Misa "-sorry… He's had to put up with_ Ryuzaki_ for a while."

"Really?" This small piece of information into L's past intrigued Light. It felt like a carrot was being dangled in front of his nose, but Light knew that the more he asked, the less he would be told. It was incredibly frustrating.

It seemed L had given up on his argument with Misa – there was no doubt about who had won – and picked up the phone to call the Task Force. He spoke briefly about Mogi taking over as Misa's manager before beginning a lecture, even though he couldn't see the man.

Light really did step on L's foot this time, wearing a shoe and on L's bare toes.

Not _too_ hard though, of course. Just enough to make L pause his rant, put the phone on the side, wrap an arm around Light's waist and actually _drag_ him off of his foot. L wriggled his toes and, satisfied that no damage was done, released Light and picked up the phone again.

Under the sounds of Misa shrieking in irritation, Light could detect Aiber's quiet laughter.

* * *

With Misa and Mogi at Yotsuba, the main room of Headquarters seemed quieter than usual – not that Mogi's absence made much of a difference to the noise level anyway. Light had to admit, though, the click of Matsuda's shoes on the tiles as he paced back and forth anxiously was beginning to irritate him. He vaguely heard L's voice quietly chastising Matsuda beside him, but he tuned it out in favour of addressing some of his more troubling thoughts.

_The Kira before I was put into confinement and the current Kira are definitely different people. Obviously, they are both punishing criminals, but their methods are different._

Light brought up two windows on the screen of his computer to compare the killings. _The current Kira is getting rid of every single person who is reported on the news to have killed someone. The old Kira spared those who killed accidentally or without malice; car crashes, for example. Also, if the original Kira decided that the person who was killed deserved what they got, the murderer was not punished…_

Almost in irritation, Light tapped the tips of his fingers on the desk in an irregular rhythm; every other beat, he changed the speed at which his nails came into contact with the metal. The clipping sounds provided an irritating soundtrack to L's lecture for Matsuda. _If I was Kira, I'd probably operate like that… I don't sense any human emotions coming from the current Kira; he doesn't let anyone off._

_ No._ Light's thoughts were suddenly firm. He stilled his hand, resisting the urge to curl it into a fist; he knew L would notice that, and then ask him what was on his mind. _There's no right and wrong when it comes to killing people. I know that. _

_ But… The way the original Kira acted… It's frighteningly close to my own thoughts._

Sighing, Light pushed off from the desk and sat back in his chair, letting his head fall back. He stared at the ceiling, a slight frown on his face. It wasn't enough to alert L to some sort of problem, thank goodness; Light often disappeared into his mind for a while to think things over for the case, so the detective had no need to be suspicious.

_What am I thinking? I'm not Kira. I must be crazy to compare myself to him. _

He flicked his eyes to the left to rest on his boyfriend, who was happily eating a slice of cake. _But L surely must have noticed the differences between the original Kira and the current one. Why hasn't he mentioned it to me? Surely he doesn't still suspect _me _of being Kira? _

_ I seriously doubt that. He wouldn't have let himself be in a relationship with Kira, would he? Light and Ryuzaki is one thing, but Kira and L is another entirely… No, he wouldn't have allowed this to happen if he wasn't entirely sure._

Light gnawed on his lower lip uncertainly. He was desperate to get a chance to talk to L alone – minus Watari, of course – and ask him if he was still under suspicion. The only problem was, Matsuda and his father were in the room, and he couldn't think of a valid reason for them to leave while they were waiting for Misa and Mogi. No, he would have to wait until later, after the day was over.

Within the hour, Light realised just how long it would drag on for.

Misa's interview with Yotsuba went on for the rest of the afternoon, and well into the evening. Light noticed that he wasn't the only one becoming annoyed with her and Mogi; Soichiro grumbled, Matsuda whined, and L's eyes steadily narrowed as they watched the little clock on the computer screen.

Eventually, L broke into Matsuda's endless ranting just to make him be silent; he could feel a headache forming, thanks to Matsuda's voice, which hadn't shut up for the last God-knew-how-long. "Seems like Yotsuba has a lot of questions for her. It's a good sign…" Sighing, L pressed his fingers to his temples and closed his eyes, hoping his cool skin would help to keep the painful throbbing at bay.

"Ryuzaki."

He looked up, one eyelid flicking open again, as Light quietly said his name. Light glanced at Matsuda and Soichiro and, deciding it was safe enough, he reached over to place his hand on L's shoulder in silent comfort. The detective saw concern in the young man's eyes, as well as longing; Light wished he could do more to help L, but they both knew he couldn't even hold his hand in present company.

"Even if we're having Misa get close to Yotsuba, I think it's too dangerous to make them think she's the Second Kira. We should use Aiber or Namikawa to dispel that rumour completely."

There was a short moment when Light saw a few emotions cycle through L's eyes, before he settled on his usual mask of calm indifference; among them were confusion, amusement and was that just a hint of jealousy? Light was baffled at the last one. He had no idea why L had any need to be jealous. He'd chosen him over Misa, hadn't he? That was one of the things they had to be careful about with their relationship, and it would only provide extra bother, so surely L knew that Light wouldn't have gone into it without being certain?

"We are," L replied, keeping his voice low to stop his headache from worsening. That would be most unhelpful if it became more painful because _he_ spoke. "She's saying, 'I was suspected as the Second Kira and captured by L but I was released'."

"It's the 'captured by L' part that's dangerous," Light hissed. L almost chuckled. Was Light concerned that Yotsuba would be able to track L down just by the mention of him? Really, Yotsuba was quite clever, but it was nowhere near the intelligence level of L.

"Misa-san wanted to go along with it, Light-kun-"

"Don't worry, Light."

Both young men jumped when Soichiro broke into the conversation; Light withdrew his hand from L's shoulder instantly, despite the detective's fake look of innocence. L could be forgiven for making the odd comment – he _was_ a bit of a pervert sometimes, like Misa so often liked to remind him – but Light was supposed to be with Misa. He couldn't afford to slip up.

"Ryuzaki," Soichiro growled, "I'm going to go on TV and announce everything we know."

"We're not the police anymore; we can't do that now, Chief," Matsuda protested, piping up again. L winced when the spot his headache was concentrated in gave a particularly painful throb in response.

There was a sparkle in Soichiro's eyes that made Light instantly wary of what his father was going to say next, and with good reason. "Demegawa at Sakura TV will jump at the chance, Matsuda. I'll tell him why I've quit the force, that Yotsuba is using the power of Kira… Once I announce that, even if the killing of criminals doesn't stop, the killings done by Yotsuba will." Soichiro's voice was firm and determined; he certainly sounded like the chief of police he once was.

Light took a moment to reply to his father, so he could arrange what he wanted to say in his mind before he voiced it. "Almost everyone will just think you're crazy, Dad… And more importantly, you'll be killed by Yotsuba."

"I know, son… but no matter what the public thinks, the deaths committed by Yotsuba should stop. My life will save so many others-"

"Dad!" Light cried, interrupting his father. "What about Mum and Sayu?!"

"Yagami-san."

Both members of the Yagami family quietened at L's soft voice. It was clear from the way he was staring at nothing in particular that an idea was brewing in that clever mind of his. "Could you wait one month to do that? We've already set it up so the Yotsuba killings won't happen for a month."

"But if I announce the news about Yotsuba, I might be able to stop the criminals being killed as well," Soichiro responded gruffly, as dedicated as ever to preventing unnecessary loss of human life.

There was a quiet click as L moved the saucer his teacup was resting on. "There's a ninety-nine percent chance that your plan won't make a difference. As I've said before, it will just allow Kira to escape."

A long silence fell, during which L simply shifted his legs closer to his body to stay comfortable and Soichiro lowered his gaze to the floor and tried to think of a way around L's words. Eventually, he asked, "Light, what do you think?"

Light tried not to feel as if he was betraying his father, but he couldn't help the slight stab of guilt he felt for his answer. Originally, he'd sided with Soichiro, but now he saw the sense in L's plans a bit more. "I'm going to have to go with Ryuzaki on this one, Dad. Unless Kira is caught, the killings won't stop. If we arrested all seven of the Yotsuba men, then there's a chance it could stop, but not with your plan. Announcing the names of the seven to the media would create chaos. If some of them had been threatened by Kira to attend these meetings, then revealing them would destroy their lives."

Appearing defeated, Soichiro sighed, "True…" Grudgingly, he added, "I'll wait one month, Ryuzaki. But if we cannot capture Kira within a month, I will put my plan into action."

"I understand, Yagami-san. And thank you."

"By the way, I have to say, I don't agree with putting Amane in that kind of danger-"

Before Soichiro could get into the swing of his tirade, Matsuda chirped, "Misa-Misa's back!"

Within minutes of his announcement, the girl herself skipped into the room, Mogi on her heels. While Misa stretched and complained about being exhausted, Mogi said, "Yotsuba have decided to go with Misa for their advertisement."

"What did they ask?" Matsuda looked a bit like an eager puppy with the way he was bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"I can only tell Light and Ryuzaki, since you guys are on different teams now," Misa replied airily, strolling towards the two young men by the computers. She stuck her nose in the air and literally _flounced_ across the room.

"Actually, we're working together again now!" Matsuda corrected her.

"Oh!" Instantly becoming friendly once more, Misa turned on her heel and held out her phone to Matsuda, beaming at him. "I told them my mobile number and email address. Already three of the seven have contacted me privately." Excitedly, she looked over at the back of L's head. "So now I just investigate each of them, right?"

Dully, L murmured, "It looks like that plan's been cancelled."

"What?!" The young woman shrieked, leaping towards L. Light dived into her path and wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her back, a look of utter shock on his face. "After all that work? Don't be ridiculous!"

"It's not my choice," the detective muttered, scowling.

"That plan puts you in danger, Misa," Light added, slowly releasing her when it seemed that there was no chance of her flying at L again. "You'll need to deny the part about being investigated by L. Mogi will act as your bodyguard and you will just be there as an actress."

All five of the Task Force worried as Misa hesitated, and then breathed a collective sigh of relief when she said in a resigned voice, "Ok, Light. If that's what you want, I'll do it. Anyway, I'm tired… I'm going to bed."

L knew his shoulders lowered somewhat in relief when she started to leave, but he couldn't bring himself to stop the movement. He froze, though, when he heard her parting words.

"Hey, Light, want to come to bed with me?"

L turned his swivel chair around to face the room, his eyes wide. Light's mouth hung open in utter bewilderment. However, Light's expression was nothing to the faces of Soichiro, Matsuda and Mogi, who ranged from embarrassment to uneasiness.

As Light struggled to find his voice, Misa giggled. "Don't worry! I know we're saving it until after you catch Kira. Don't be so shy, Light!"

Misa skipped away, leaving Light was absolutely mortified. He didn't dare to meet the eyes of anyone in the room, fearing what he'd see in their eyes. In the end, he just ducked his head and went back to his seat.

L bit his lip to contain his laughter; Light really did have the best reactions.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note: Woo! Two chapters within a week to make up for my crappy posting time last week. Lucky you guys. _And_ it's just after Christmas _and_ I've got a cold. But I'm determined!**

**I'd just like to say a special thank you to everyone who said they enjoy my writing style/the way I portray the characters/the people who said they read the whole fic super quickly/the readers that have been following this story for... gosh, nearly four months now. You guys are amazing! **

* * *

_I could get used to this,_ was Light's best thought the next day. Misa and Mogi were gone again – Misa was filming the Yotsuba advertisement – and Matsuda was actually being quiet for once, so Headquarters was blissfully quiet save for the whir of the computers and the occasional tapping on a keyboard. While they waited for news, L had seen fit to give the Task Force a break, and they were certainly using it to the fullest; Soichiro was slowly nodding off into a nap on one of the sofas and Matsuda was channel hopping on the TV. Deciding to indulge themselves, Light and L had reached across and linked their hands together while the other two had their backs turned. It was a simple, small demonstration of their relationship, but it was enough to satisfy them both for now.

As soon as one of the computers let out the alert bell, however, they swiftly moved apart, returning to a respectable distance before either of the others could see. Light felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips when he caught a glimpse of irritation in L's eyes, which the detective quickly hid behind his emotionless mask. However, Light had seen it, and that was proof enough for him that L had been enjoying himself.

Chuckling quietly, he almost missed the beginning of what Watari said. "Call from Mogi-san, Ryuzaki," the old man reported.

"Put him through," L replied, his thumb instantly finding its way between his lips.

_"I'm sorry, Ryuzaki."_ Mogi's voice came through the speakers, thanks to Watari, and caught the attention of Soichiro and Matsuda; they hurried over, a mixture of curiosity and concern in their expressions. _"Amane tricked me and got away."_

"What's she doing?" Matsuda yelped, jumping backwards in surprise. L closed his eyes briefly to keep himself from snapping at Matsuda; really, the young officer's reactions when it came to Misa were starting to annoy him.

"What's _Mogi_ doing?" Soichiro growled. "It's his job to look after her!"

"I can understand if Misa-san wants to have some fun without being under surveillance, but..." L trailed off, half-shrugging. "Light-kun, would you try reaching her mobile, please?"

All they got was her cheery voice asking them to leave a message; all four men grimaced. "She turned off the phone she told me she'd always leave on for me," Light murmured, frowning.

L shoved away the spike of jealousy that jolted through him, impatiently telling it _'Now isn't the time!'_ Instead, he mulled over her odd behaviour the night before, where she'd backed down about helping Light instead of standing her ground, as he'd come to expect from her.

Yes, it was very odd indeed.

"There's nothing we can do," L said reluctantly. "We'll have to wait for her to come back on her own. Which she will," he added, glancing over his shoulder at the Task Force. "I have the feeling she'd tried to do something to help the investigation; I doubt she'd simply run off. Perhaps she tried to take matters into her own hands. But whatever happens, we can't do anything now. We have no way of finding her."

Exchanging worried looks, Soichiro and Matsuda returned to their seats on the sofas. Light studied L's expression, but the detective gave nothing away. In fact, he appeared to be lost in thought; he didn't respond to Light's soft call of his name, and after a few tries, Light gave up and left him to it.

* * *

Mogi returned just before Misa. He glanced into the security camera as he entered the lobby of Headquarters, looking just a little bit sheepish. He'd barely reached the main room when his phone beeped, and when he answered it he couldn't even get a word out before Misa trilled, "Mochi, it's Misa! Let me in!"

Before anyone could give her an angry "Where have you been?!" she did an odd little pirouette thing in her nurse outfit – where had _that_ come from? – and sang, "Higuchi is Kira!"

There was complete and utter silence from the Task Force, who exchanged looks of pure confusion – or, in L's case, shock that Misa had actually gotten them a result. The only sound was Misa's light-hearted giggle and the tap of her shoes as she skipped over to the desk. "Listen to this recording I made!"

A single beep announced that it was starting, and then Higuchi's voice echoed from Misa's phone; the volume of it wasn't very high at all, but you could have heard a pin drop in that room anyway due to the surprised silence, so the recording was plenty loud enough. _"Since I'm Kira and want you to trust me, I will halt the killings of criminals. And once you realise I'm Kira, you'll marry me, Misa."_

_ "Sure!"_ Misa chirped.

Matsuda cheered, actually jumping and punching the air. "So if the killings stop, that means we know who Kira is! This even stops what you were worried about, chief! Well done, Misa-Misa!" Reluctantly, Soichiro and Mogi agreed, though they couldn't be heard very well over the sounds of Matsuda and Misa celebrating.

Light and L just exchanged exasperated looks.

Biting on his thumbnail, L quickly sorted through his thoughts, and judging by the look in Light's eyes, his boyfriend was thinking along the same lines as him.

_If the killings of the criminals stop, there is no doubt that Higuchi is Kira, or at least has his powers. I figured Amane-san would do something like this for Light-kun, but to do something like this… _

_ If the killings _do_ stop, it will be difficult for us to determine the actual method of killing. I'll need to think of a plan…_

"Misa, how did you get Higuchi to say that?" Light asked, sounding concerned. L had to admit to himself, he shared Light's feelings. There was no doubt that Misa was smart, but she was also foolish and eager to impress; she could have easily made a mistake that would put them all in danger, and L would not stand by if the investigation was compromised.

"He's totally crazy about me," Misa said nonchalantly, waving a hand and laughing in a carefree way. _Is she ever _not _cheerful?_ L wondered. "I just said 'I'd marry Kira' and he told me! He thinks that I'm the Second Kira."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Light's breath hissed through his teeth in a sigh; L's hand twitched as he fought the urge to reach out and hold Light's in a silent acknowledgement of _'Yes, Misa does things without thinking and yes, I also know that she's smart and stupid at the same time'. _To keep himself from doing just that, L balled his hands into fists and tucked them under his feet.

"We told you to deny being the second Kira!" Light snapped. "You were supposed to say that you were captured as the Second Kira, _but that it was a mistake._"

For a brief moment Misa hesitated, but then she narrowed her eyes. "But now we know Higuchi is Kira and we can arrest him!" she protested, actually stamping her foot.

"No," Light growled. He turned on his heel and began to pace, the chain that connected him to L merrily tinkling away. L frowned and grabbed Light by the sleeve when he passed, to stop the irritating noise so he could think clearly. Light scowled in frustration and looked at Misa again, struggling to keep his voice to an acceptable level. "If he tells the other seven that they should 'stop killing criminals in order to bring Misa, the Second Kira, on our side', we won't know who Kira is!"

Soichiro ducked his head when he felt Matsuda and Mogi turn their gazes on him. It appeared Light had managed to inherit a bit of his impatience for mistakes. This was the first he'd seen of it, though, so it was as surprising to Mr. Yagami as it was to the others.

Naturally, L didn't even bat an eyelid.

Forcing the tension to drain from his shoulders, Light glanced over at L. There were traces of anger still sparking in his brown eyes, but L chose to ignore it. "Ryuzaki, we can just confirm with Namikawa if something like that came up before the killings stopped, can't we?"

L nodded once, more concentrated on the tower of sugar cubes he was beginning to make. "Yes." He paused to balance one particularly stubborn cube, and then continued. "If Higuchi has Kira's powers, he'll stop the killings without telling anyone. And if he doesn't, he'll have to bring it up at the meeting, but I doubt that Kira would act on Higuchi's personal request… we _can _just ask Namikawa."

Frowning, Soichiro crossed his arms and made himself part of the discussion by asking, "Though we can't be certain that Namikawa will tell us the truth, right?"

"If we told him Higuchi was Kira, he'd probably have to side with us at this moment in time," Light replied, nodding. He looked calmer now, certainly much less annoyed with Misa. L didn't particularly like the girl, but he did appreciate that she had no idea about the stress his relationship with Light was placing the young man under; he had to keep up the pretence of being with Misa, put up with being under suspicion, _and_ help investigate the case. It was a lot for even Light to stand without making his strain known. L felt pity for him growing in his chest, but it definitely wasn't enough to make him lighten his load at all; L was selfish – he knew that, and accepted it. Once he cleared Light's name, everything would be fine again.

"Whatever happens," L murmured, now making a tower of sugar cubes on the handle of his teacup, "Higuchi is Kira. That much is clear." He paused, and then added, "Would you call this a triumph, Matsuda-san?"

The young officer frowned at the back of L's head but, for once, stayed silent.

"We can't celebrate yet, Ryuzaki; we still don't know how Kira kills," said Light.

L hummed in agreement, nibbling on the corner of a sugar cube. "Yes… I'd like to find that out before we capture Higuchi…"

"But if the killings stop, we won't be able to, right?"

"Correct, Light-kun."

"What should we do? At this rate, Misa might be killed."

Said girl shrieked, "Huh?!" and seized Light's arm, holding it tightly; he winced as he began to lose feeling in it. L decided to cut off Misa's babbling as soon as possible, preferably _before _Light's arm became useless.

"Misa-san, how much did you get Higuchi to believe you were the Second Kira?"

Slowly loosening her grip, much to Light's relief, Misa hummed in thought. "Well, I told him I could kill people… I said if he proved that he was Kira, then I'd prove I was the Second Kira and we'd get married. I kept acting like I really looked up to Kira and stuff… And then Higuchi said all of that," she finished, gesturing at her mobile.

"If the killings stop, Misa-san, you'll have to kill someone. Can you do that?"

"Of course not!" she huffed, crossing her arms. "Higuchi just wants to marry me, he won't kill me."

But Light shook his head. "Marriage isn't his main goal. If you aren't the Second Kira, he'll kill you," he explained.

Misa then put on that dreamy voice she reserved for the moments when Light seemed to return her interest, the one that made both Light and L feel physically ill. "Oh, you're jealous, Light? Don't worry; you're the only one I'll marry!"

Light decided to ignore that, both for his sake and for L's, who was looking just a little bit annoyed. "Ryuzaki, we can't worry about how he kills people. Let's capture Higuchi now."

"To keep Misa-san out of danger?"

"Yes." L didn't respond, so Light put his hand on the detective's shoulder – L tensed and gave him a look out of the corner of his eyes – and continued. "Misa did this because she thought it would help us catch Higuchi. We have no choice. We might learn how he did it after we capture him."

L wanted to tug his shoulder out of Light's grip – he could see the rest of the Task Force watching them and it unnerved him – but he stayed still. _If Light-kun _was_ Kira, then even if we catch Higuchi it's possible the same thing could happen again… However, this opponent is Higuchi, not Light. Looking at his personality profile, I doubt…_

Eventually, he muttered, "Even if we're going to capture Higuchi, it won't take place unless the criminals stop dying. Let me think it over."

Pleased with his response, the Task Force allowed themselves to relax; Light gently squeezed L's shoulder before releasing him. "Watari-san, get me Wedy," L told the computer. A few seconds later, when a single beep announced that the call had been passed to her, he added, "How's it going, Wedy?"

_"Within the company building, we are now able to track seventy percent of the seven's movements. Monitoring them on the outside is impossible with just Watari and me, though."_

L frowned, crunching on another sugar cube. They couldn't have been good for his teeth, but with the amount of candy he consumed on a daily basis it couldn't make much of a difference. "What about if we just focused on Higuchi?"

_"I've only entered the houses of five of them; Mido, Namikawa and Higuchi have serious security systems. Especially Higuchi, he recently built an underground room that locks out electronic waves. It took me two days to break in. We can't transmit sound or pictures from that room, but we could sneak in and install devices to collect later."_

"I understand. Then please attach the cameras and listening devices to Higuchi's car instead."

_"Huh? Do you know how hard it's been getting this far into the house?"_ Wedy replied scathingly. _"Do you know_ _how many cars he owns?"_

"Six." L's response was short, to the point and it clearly said 'I don't care if he has a hundred cars, you _will_ put bugs in them'.

_"In all of the cars?"_

"Yes please."

Everyone thought that it would be nice to hit their heads on the nearest table or wall when Misa eagerly said, "So I'll meet with Higuchi in his car and have him reveal how he kills?"

"No!" Light snapped; his patience, which had slowly settled again, was stretched thin once more. "If you do that, he'll know you aren't the Second Kira! Just stay put!"

L actually started putting sugar cubes in his tea at this point, which secretly surprised everyone else. He still happily crunched away on a few, though. "Yes, once the killings stop, if Higuchi sees Misa-san he'll obviously ask her to prove she can kill someone." He paused, lifting his tea and blowing on it gently to cool it. "How about… we create a situation where Higuchi is forced to show us how he kills?"

"You have an idea?" asked Light.

L turned his chair to face his boyfriend, a devious smile creeping across his lips. He looked almost surprised at Light's question, but the smirk didn't slip off of his face. "Of course."


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note: Woah. A very special thank you to Mary Lou for reviewing most of the chapters! That was quite a surprise to find last night. T****here's a little scene in here for you, Glaistig ;) Thank you everyone for your reviews, favourites and follows, though. You guys are the best. 3**

* * *

Light woke with a start. While his shock wasn't as violent as it had been when he'd had a nightmare a few months ago, he still curled into a ball on his side, feeling like a child that was scared of a monster under his bed. He trembled, but made an effort to stay still. He didn't want to alert L; the detective didn't get enough sleep as it was, and he didn't want to disturb him. Unfortunately, that was all pointless anyway, as L was already awake.

He quietly put his laptop to the side, turning the screen towards them so the glare of the screen shone on them, giving them a bit of light. Then, after a brief moment's hesitation in which L decided on the best way to comfort his boyfriend, he gathered Light into his arms.

Light relaxed instantly, turning over so he could burrow into L's embrace, not noticing that he'd done so until his face was level with L's neck. The detective's scent was sweet, rich – it reminded Light of chocolate. As his shaking began to fade away, Light was surprised to feel L plant a kiss on the top of his head. He hoped L couldn't detect the warm, fuzzy feelings Light was having then; that would only increase his embarrassment.

"Did you have another nightmare?" L murmured. Light could feel his breath ruffling through his hair ever so slightly; it was oddly soothing.

"Yeah," Light replied quietly.

"What about?"

The young man stayed silent. They were his demons to face, and he didn't need to drag L into the battle with him. But it seemed that L was determined to fight alongside him, because he gently rested his head on top of Light's and whispered, "Light-kun?"

Light closed his eyes and pressed his face into L's shoulder. It was rare that he needed comfort like this and it was a little humiliating to the confident young man to admit to wanting it. And yet, at the same time, it was… nice. Nice that L was willing to open up, to offer him a warm hug when it was needed. Nice that L took note of Light's feelings and behaviour.

"I was Kira in the dream," he confessed to L's shirt.

The detective's arms tightened around him, but Light wasn't sure whether it was in comfort or if it was just a knee-jerk reaction to the name 'Kira'.

"You are not Kira," L eventually said. Light shifted, moving further up so he could see his boyfriend's face. His breath caught in his throat at the show of emotions playing in L's usually expressionless eyes: there was fear, worry, irritation and affection all at once. Usually it was a struggle to get him to show anything other than interest during the day, and when any time alone they could spend together rolled around it was normally night, and by then Light was often exhausted by the events of the day. This cuddle was the furthest they'd gone, but it was comfortable. Light was certain that he could see a softening in L's cool grey gaze that indicated he was enjoying it, too.

Light's stomach suddenly lurched as he realised that this was the perfect moment for a kiss. A small part of his mind noted that he was acting a bit like a teenage girl in his reaction, but he couldn't find it in him to care.

But L simply tucked Light's head under his chin, and began to rub his back soothingly. "You are not Kira," he repeated. "Higuchi is, and we will capture him and put this case to rest. And once your name is cleared…"

"I'll be free," Light finished, smiling slightly.

"Yes. Exactly." He felt more than heard L chuckle quietly. "Now rest, Light-kun. We have a busy day tomorrow."

Light was more than pleased to find that L had fallen asleep at some point in the night, and also that he'd kept his hold on him. It was a struggle to make his way free of L's grip in the morning - who knew that the detective would be so fond of hugging? - and when he did the detective woke, frowning. Sleepily, he followed Light's example in getting up and dressing, but he looked like he'd much prefer to stay in bed for another couple of hours. It was a shame, really; L needed as much sleep as he could get, but the investigation had to take away this opportunity for now. It annoyed Light that he had to force L to meet with the others in the main room, but what other choice did he have?

* * *

"We're going to capture Kira tonight. I want your help."

Silence. The Task Force watched Light's face anxiously, waiting for Namikawa's reply. Light was pretending to be L again in order to get the assistance of Namikawa in their plan to stop Higuchi, but it had turned out that he wasn't alone; Shimura and Mido, to other members of the seven, were both aware of Namikawa's contact with 'L', and had adopted Namikawa's choice - observe the battle.

_"So… Higuchi's finished?"_

Light exchanged a surprised glance with L. "You knew it was him?"

Namikawa chuckled down the phone, and when he spoke the amusement was clear in his tone. _"So even L falls for stuff. After your reaction, I'm now certain it's Higuchi."_

L gave Light an annoyed look. Feeling sheepish, Light simply shrugged as an apology. "We're going to control Higuchi with a Kira Special on Sakura TV tonight at seven. I want you to call Higuchi a few minutes after it starts and have him watch the show. I won't do anything to the other six of you. Please stop Kida, Takahashi and Ooi if they try anything."

_"Ok, I'll trust you. We'll watch Sakura TV as well."_

Neither Light nor Namikawa said farewell as they finished the call.

* * *

Sakura TV was as annoying as ever, L decided as the Task Force eagerly fixed their eyes on the screen. There was irritating music playing in the background, the presenters kept reminding the audience that there was a big reveal at the end of the show, and it was just, all in all, a terrible channel with terrible programmes and terrible presenters. But who else would have seized the chance to air the bait for Higuchi?

On the set, Matsuda and the interviewer were hidden behind screens, and there were voice filters on their microphones to protect their identities – for the moment, at least.

_"So, one of them is Kira?"_

_ "Yes."_ The Task Force – which comprised of L, Light and Misa, as they were the only ones in the building – all stifled snorts of laughter; Matsuda's voice had been changed to a comically high pitch, one that was no doubt annoying the young man while he was in the interview. _"I have lots of evidence."_

_ "Like what, sir?"_

_ "There were eight of them, but one of them was killed, so it became seven people… the victim was Mr. H."_

The interviewer leaned forwards slightly from behind his screen in interest. _"Mr. H?"_

_ "Yes. Mr. H said he wanted to leave the meetings and Kira killed him. I- ah!"_

Matsuda's elbow hit the screen and, with a crash that echoed through the speakers, it tumbled to the floor. He cried out as his face was revealed, and raised his arms to hide himself. Members of staff rushed forwards to move the screen back into place, but the damage was done.

L smiled. Matsuda had done exactly as they'd planned. Perhaps he _was_ useful after all.

In a comforting tone of voice, the interviewer asked, _"Are you happy to continue?"_

_ "Yes, I know the danger. I'm doing this to protect everyone from Kira. I'll see it through until the end!"_

Barely seconds later, Misa's phone trilled. "Aha!" she cheered, grinning. "There it is! It's Higuchi!" Looking far happier than the situation warranted, she ignored the call.

The Kira Special went on a short break then, but no one had any time to rest. Almost immediately after Misa's phone stopped ringing, Watari announced that Higuchi was contacting Mogi. "Yes, as expected," L commented, nibbling his thumbnail. "Put the call through to Mogi and let us hear."

_"Moji, where's Misa?!" _Higuchi shouted, sounding incredibly panicked.

_"Oh, Mr. Higuchi!"_ Mogi laughed light-heartedly, and everyone listening who knew what was actually going on had to admit that Mogi was a talented actor when he wanted to be. _"Misa-Misa's on holiday right now, she had a few days off for the first time in a while. She should be back by tomorrow."_

_ "I'm asking you where she is! Tell me!"_ the Yotsuba executive demanded.

_"I'm afraid that's a private matter, she didn't want anyone to know. My apologies. Please contact her tomorrow. Goodbye, sir!"_

_ "Wait!" _L leaned forwards slightly, interest flickering in his eyes at Higuchi's cry. _"Misa's last manager, was he a former actor? Taro Matsui. Know him?"_

_ "No, sorry… Everyone's in Okinawa at the moment. Would you like to call the boss?"_

The call began to relay over to Yoshida productions. Light leaned over L's shoulder, deliberately not putting as much space between them as usual. He doubted Misa would suspect anything for real, especially when she believed in Light anyway. "It's going so perfectly that it's scary."

"Let's be happy, not scared, Light-kun."

A sharp beep brought them back to attention. _"This is Higuchi from Yotsuba. Taro Matsui, that's not his real name, is it?"_

_ "No, he only used that name for his job, Mr. Higuchi."_

"He's not even trying to hide what he's after anymore," Misa giggled.

"That's proof that he's starting to panic," commented L.

_"What's his real name?!"_

_ "Hmm… Yamada… no, Yamashita… I don't remember the rest."_

_ "You can't even remember the name of your own employee?!"_

_"What's with that tone? I have his file in the office, what's the problem?"_

_ "Then find it and tell me!"_

_ "I'm on my first holiday in two years! If it's that important to you, then I'll tell you the combination on the office door. You can go check for yourself. The files are in the very back desk to the left of where you enter. They're in the bottom drawer in alphabetical order." _

After Higuchi dropped the call there was a worrying delay, during which all three of them thought Higuchi wasn't going to leave, but then Wedy announced that she was following him and that he had taken a bag with him.

"Going as expected," Light breathed, sounding both relieved and concerned.

"Yes," L replied quietly. He longed to reach out and hold Light's hand in an attempt to steady his whirring brain, but that wasn't an option with Misa in the room.

_"I'm following from a safe distance," _Wedy said. They could hear the roar of the wind through the microphone as she rushed behind Higuchi's car on her motorbike.

The Kira Special returned, and L ordered, "I want Speaker One on Higuchi's car, and Speaker Two on Sakura TV. Volume seventy for number one, and thirty for number two." Light moved over to his seat and quickly typed away at the keyboard, changing the microphones' level to L's preference.

"Higuchi's glued to the TV even in his car," Light murmured.

_"You're incredibly brave to be doing this after Kira saw your face,"_ Matsuda's interviewer said, sounding impressed. _"Are you sure it's ok?"_

_ "Yes. While I was investigating, I learned that there are two things Kira needs to kill someone. There are a lot of rumours about that, but I confirmed it. And Kira is missing one of those things."_

L leaned towards the screen, staring at Higuchi as the Yotsuba executive's face ran through many different expressions, before finally settling on worry. He glanced into the mirror, looking into the backseat. _"Rem, what do you think?"_

"Rem?" Light sounded completely baffled. "Who's that? He went into the car alone and I can't imagine someone hiding in there. He's not on a phone… Is there a radio in there?"

L shook his head and narrowed his eyes. "No, there's nothing of the sort in the car, only what Wedy installed. She would have found it if there was anything."

_"Do you think his file will be at Yoshida Productions?" _Higuchi asked.

"He's talking to himself?" Light suggested, sounding doubtful.

There was a pause, and then Higuchi continued. _"A smart guy wouldn't appear on TV until he'd eradicated everything that was connected to his name… The whole thing about just letting me enter their building… isn't that a bit careless? Well, if something was stolen, they'd know I did it…"_

Light began to speak, but L cut him off with a swift, "Don't worry, he'll definitely go there."

_"What if his file's there but it's another fake name?"_ Higuchi fretted. _"There's a good chance that's the case."_ Another lull in the 'conversation' – Sakura TV cheerily told the viewers that it was only an hour until the 'big announcement!', and Higuchi glanced at the screen, but he only seemed to be paying attention a small amount.

_"Yeah, I know that."_ That didn't seem like an odd thing to say to himself – he could have been responding to the 'big announcement' news, after all – but then he added, _"But after that I should kill the Yoshida Production people I spoke to on the phone and Misa, just in case."_

"What?!" Misa shrieked, instantly panicking. "Kill me? But-"

Becoming irritated with all of the interruptions, L hushed her, waving a hand in her face. Scowling, she batted it away. "He means after he's killed Matsuda-san. If he can't kill Matsuda-san, there's no point in killing the rest."

Luckily for L, Light had been paying attention to Higuchi while he explained to Misa, and he noticed that there had been a long silence before he spoke again. _"Right… You're smart, Rem… So then I'll control them to delete their phone records, and _then_ kill them."_

Light stood, smacking a fist on the desk in frustration. "He's not just talking to himself. Who's Rem? Who's he talking to?" He looked at L, as if the detective knew the answer.

Which, in fact, he did.

He took his time answering, though; he seemed more concentrated on the banana he was peeling than the events that were unfolding before them, now. "If he is talking to someone… it could be a Shinigami, perhaps?"

Light looked uneasy at the mention of the Gods of Death; they were tales, nothing more, he assured himself. And yet, the word 'Shinigami' had come up in the Kira Case before… While he and L returned their attention to the monitors, neither of them noticed Misa's eyes widening in surprise at L's words, or the now slightly fearful way she regarded the back of his head.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note: Well. I'm sorry this was a little bit late again. And school's back in now, so it'll be back to one chapter per week or so, sadly.**

**But do enjoy the chaper. -Fingers crossed-**

* * *

If Light and L had glanced at Misa, they would have seen a girl that was on edge. They would have noticed the sudden worry in her eyes as L mentioned Shinigami, and they would have asked her about it. But they didn't, so she was left to panic in silence. The fact that L was so close to the truth was frightening Misa; if the detective worked it out, it would be the end of Light's reign as Kira...

However, they were distracted by Higuchi, who was supposedly speaking to one of these Gods of Death.

_"No, that would only end miserably for me," _he said dismissively, waving a hand towards the back of his car._ "Matsui's saying he has evidence. And if you compare Yotsuba's growth to the killings, it will be obvious that he's telling the truth. Nobody would doubt him. Whoever he says is Kira will be Kira!_

_ "Even if there's no clear evidence against me, my life will be over. I can forget fame and fortune. I'll have to leave Yotsuba."_

As Matsuda pleaded for Kira to turn himself in on the Sakura TV Kira Special, Misa's phone trilled again; she denied it like before, and on one of the screens Higuchi growled in frustration.

"He's arrived at the building," L commented.

"Here it comes…" Light's hands were poised over the keyboard, ready to type. At L's command to show Yoshida Productions' cameras on all the screens, he leaped into action, clicking away. As the images burst onto the screens, L leaned forward, his thumb firmly between his lips as he bit the nail.

Higuchi paused at the keypad by the door to the offices to put in the correct code, and then he strode with purpose into the room. He made his way to the correct desk and crouched beside it, yanking open the drawer and flicking through the files. His mixture of nerves and relief were clear even through the video footage.

"Show me how you kill," L murmured, clamping his teeth back down on his thumb instantly after he'd spoken. Almost as if on cue, Higuchi opened his briefcase and removed a small black notebook. Unfortunately for the Task Force, they weren't to know that that was the murder weapon just yet.

_"Ryuzaki," _Mogi whispered into his microphone, _"we're ready to jump Higuchi anytime. Just give us the signal."_

But L was waiting for Higuchi to demonstrate how he committed the murders. However, all he did was write the name down in the notebook, put everything back how it had been before his arrival, and leave.

"All he did was note down the name!" Light pushed his chair back as he stood up, as if displaying his anger would make Higuchi attempt to kill Matsuda there and then.

_"Ryuzaki, do we apprehend him?"_ Mogi asked again.

L grimaced and lowered his hand to his knee in order to speak clearly. "He hasn't revealed how he kills yet. He may be planning to do something in the car that we can pick up with the cameras. We'll catch him after that. Join Wedy in tailing him."

"He should want to kill Matsuda as soon as possible," Light murmured. He took a step back and tilted his head up towards the screens, looking completely baffled. "Yet he's so _calm_…"

L hummed in agreement. "Yes, if he needs the name, then he should have just taken the file. Yet he returned it to the drawer…"

They both turned their attention to the screen that was watching Higuchi's car; they studied him as they thought, hoping he would provide some inspiration to them. Higuchi was watching the Kira Special again as he sat there, not even leaving the studio, still appearing cool and collected.

_"I'm really amazed by your courage. There are now a large number of people who support what Kira is doing."_

_ "No."_ Matsuda's squeaky voice was firm, despite how comical it was. _"Kira is a murderer. He must be stopped!"_

Forty seconds passed. Neither Light nor L understood the significance of those forty seconds, but they seemed to have some meaning for Higuchi, for he slammed his fist on the dashboard of his car and howled, _"Damn it! He's not dying!"_

L was silent through Light's irritated shouts, but when his boyfriend fell silent he spoke up again, his voice thoughtful. "So he already did the killing ritual? He did it while he was walking to the car…? Is writing the name down the method of killing…?"

"What should we do, Ryuzaki?" Light bent over again, his hands propping him up on the desk. He kept his face turned up, even though he wanted to hide it; the stress the situation was placing him under was clear, despite his best efforts to keep it wrapped up inside. "Keep watching what he does? It seems like he kills just by thinking about a person's name and face…"

"Matsuda is still alive," L muttered, glancing over at Light. L desperately wanted to attempt to calm him, but he couldn't risk it with Misa being in the room. The matter of Light being cleared was all resting on Higuchi being captured and named as Kira, and if they failed...

_"Damn, I don't have much time…"_ Higuchi gritted his teeth as he glared at the small TV in his car. His eyes were wild with fear. He tried ringing Misa again but, of course, she didn't accept the call. He hunched over his phone and was silent – unfortunately, his face was also obscured from view at this point, but that didn't matter for long. He sat up suddenly, his expression oddly calm again._ "Rem… I'll make the trade."_

"Trade? What is this Rem he keeps mentioning? Is Kira's power really from a Shinigami?" Light shook his head, now becoming angry with the amount of confusion he was in. Deciding to risk it, L reached across and held onto his wrist for a brief moment, giving it a gentle, comforting squeeze, before placing his hand on his knee again.

"I'd rather not think that," L replied quietly.

"Then who's Rem?"

"A Shinigami?" He shrugged. "Anyway, let's keep watching. Looks like he's up to something; we might be able to verify the killing method."

They didn't have to wait long for something to happen.

A manic grin had spread across Higuchi's face and he slammed his foot down on the accelerator. Wedy, Aiber and Mogi sprang into action, following him almost instantly. Before they could even get close, however, a policeman on a motorbike caught up; Higuchi pulled over when the motorbike managed to get in front of his car. Wedy informed them of the situation, and was forced to carry on ahead so she wasn't seen as suspicious, leaving just Aiber and Mogi in another car behind.

L, Light and Misa watched as Higuchi dived into his briefcase again, an amused chuckle coming from him as he chatted idly with the officer. But, instead of passing over his license to the policeman, he simply fiddled around in the bag for a short moment, and then made his escape again.

_"Higuchi's on the run from a cop!" _Mogi called down the line. As soon as he spoke, there was the screech of tearing metal from Mogi's end, followed by an almighty crash. _"R-Ryuzaki… the bike just hit a truck!"_ he added, sounding surprised, but still appearing to be the same, cool Kanzo Mogi that he usually was.

"This is bad…" L murmured, at the same time Light breathed, "Killed in an accident...?"

The detective left Light to mutter under his breath, and instead disappeared into his own thoughts. _Higuchi put his hand in his bag… did he do something? How? _

_ Wait, how did he get the name of the cop? If he didn't… can he just kill with a person's face, like the Second Kira…? No, if he could kill with just a face, then Matsuda would be dead… What's going on?_

L stood, placing his hands on the desk in the same manner as Light, and grabbed the microphone that connected him to the rest of the Task Force. "Everyone! I've determined it's dangerous to allow further action by Higuchi! We haven't yet verified the method of killing, but we will assume that he has the evidence on him and switch to capture mode!

"However, like the Second Kira, assume that Higuchi can now kill with just a person's face!"

* * *

L quickly informed the head of the NPA of the situation, but instead of asking for their assistance he wanted them to stay away; there was no telling what lengths Higuchi would go to in order to escape, as proven by his actions so far, and L wasn't willing to put other people in danger. L and Light went to leave, but first there was something they had to do.

_Click!_

"Hey!" Misa cried, struggling against the chain that was now holding her to her seat. They were wound around her legs, arms and chest, leaving her barely any room to breathe, let alone move. Light wanted to loosen them, but L wouldn't hear it.

"Sorry, Misa-san," L apologised, not really sounding like he meant it. "We need to make sure you can't move from here. For all we know, you could be helping Kira."

As they left, Misa chirpily replied with, "Be careful, guys!"

Light, of course, being polite, thanked her, but L simply waved a hand and said, "If we don't come back, someone will free you within twenty-four hours." Misa giggled nervously, and then the door shut on the elevator and they began the journey to the roof.

Light barely had time to comment on the fact that he hadn't been up to there yet, but then L seized his collar and dragged him forwards. His eyes widened in surprise as L's lips touched his.

The kiss wasn't exactly what Light had imagined it would be like, but now he would admit that he wouldn't have it any other way. There was a hint of desperation in it, which Light found odd, but he didn't push L away to mention it. In fact, as L's grip loosened on his shirt, Light wound his arms around the detective's waist to keep him in place. The force with which L kissed him relaxed some now, changing to light, affectionate pecks, before he drew away altogether, but not too far; he made sure to stay in the circle of Light's arms.

"What was that for?" Light asked, sounding faintly amused.

"Light-kun, we're about to go into battle with Kira. Do I really need to explain my reasons behind it?" L raised his eyebrows. "Besides, I thought that was part of the deal."

While he was tempted to chuckle at the situation, Light stayed serious, ignoring the slight twitch at the corners of his lips that wanted to make him smile. Kira wasn't someone to be laughed at. Unfortunately, they couldn't exchange any more words before there was a quiet _ding_ and the doors slid open; they reluctantly released their hold on each other before they were revealed and returned to a respectable distance.

They hurried over to the helicopter, casting amused glances at each other as they thought they'd gotten away with it, but there was a polite cough from behind them. They turned, and L openly smiled at the old man that was approaching. He held a sniper rifle over his shoulder easily; it looked worryingly at home there. "Watari," L greeted.

"Ryuzaki," he replied, a kind tone in his voice. It changed to humour, however, when he lowered his glasses slightly and peered at Light over the top of them. "You may want to straighten your shirt, Yagami-kun. Wouldn't want anyone to notice anything, would we?" As he brushed out the creases, Light sent a half-hearted glare at L.

The detective simply shrugged, smiling smugly and appearing completely unapologetic.

* * *

The _whup, whup, whup_ of the helicopter's blades provided a repetitive background noise for the flight, but it wasn't unpleasant. It was actually reassuring, in an odd way. While L concentrated on keeping them on the correct path, Light was the one to give the orders to the rest of the Task Force; the plan was already set, so there was no harm in allowing him to do it.

"Dad, Higuchi's finally headed to Sakura TV," he said into his headset. "He'll be there in about fifteen minutes. Are you ok?"

_"Of course I am, Light. Don't you worry about me." _They could pick up the faint sounds of speech between Soichiro and Wedy, but none of them bothered listening to that. The next they heard from the Task Force was Mogi informing them of his arrival at Sakura TV with Aiber, and then the conversation on the Task Force's end, but they understood the majority of it; even though the microphones weren't strong enough to pick up Higuchi's voice, the words Wedy shouted didn't lose their meaning.

_"That's it, Higuchi!" _Footsteps. The sound of a gun clicking. _"Give it up!"_

A short silence, dotted with fuzzy sounds of conversation, and then-

A single gunshot.

Cries of shock.

_"Chief!"_

Light bit his tongue to stop himself from shouting as well; he couldn't afford to distract anyone, not now.

_"Damn," _Aiber growled, and there was a soft clack as he cocked his gun. _"I'd rather not have to use one of these, but…"_

However, Aiber's attempt at chasing him wasn't enough. Higuchi escaped.

_"We're sorry, Ryuzaki. Higuchi pulled a gun and shot the chief. He's on the run,"_ Mogi reported.

"Dad-" Light began, but he was cut off by his father.

_"I'm fine, Light. He just nicked my shoulder. We'll be able to catch him if we follow him."_

_ "Too late. He's already escaped Sakura TV."_

L sighed, frowning. "No choice. We'll have to join the pursuit. Watari, are you ready?" When his guardian confirmed that he was with a sharp click of his rifle, L took one hand off of the controls to hold out a handgun to Light. "Can you handle one of these, Light-kun? Hold onto it for protection; this is Kira we're up against."

But Light immediately shook his head. He didn't even reach out to take it from L; when it was clear that he wouldn't take it, the detective carefully returned it to Watari. "Those aren't allowed in Japan, Ryuzaki."

L chuckled quietly, a smile pulling on his lips. "It was worth a try. Do be careful though, Light-kun." There was more he wanted to mention, but L held his tongue; it would be disastrous if the Task Force overheard now, of all times, and he doubted that they would get the context wrong if he _did_ say anything remotely affectionate towards Light.

Light placed his hand on L's briefly, giving it a light squeeze – a silent acknowledgement that he understood. "It'll be fine, Ryuzaki. We'll capture Kira, don't worry."

Watari cleared his throat in the back, chuckling quietly. Sheepishly, Light removed his hand, but not before he heard L laugh softly along with the older man. Suppressing a snigger of his own, Light returned to the task of tracking down Higuchi, and L manoeuvred the helicopter towards their new destination. Their amusement soon drained away as the gravity of the situation settled on them all again.

This was their chance to finally arrest Kira. Ruining it would _not _be helpful for the investigation.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's note: Sorry this is late, I just didn't have the time to write.**

**Wow! I can't tell you how pleased I am with the following this story is getting. You can all have a virtual hug from me 3**

**By the way, I'll admit now that from here on in, the storyline becomes complicated and that it took me a while to get it. So if anyone ever gets confused or if they want to ask a question about it, go ahead and I'll answer to the best of my ability.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The chase was on.

L, Light and Watari followed Higuchi from above in the helicopter that the detective was skilfully flying, and the Task Force tailed him on the roads. It was clear from the way Higuchi was twisting and turning along the streets that he was just trying to escape now. It was just as well; the Task Force was ready to close in and capture him.

What they didn't expect was the cooperation of the NPA.

As Higuchi turned onto a bridge, his car suddenly screeched to a halt when he caught sight of the wall of police vehicles. It continued skidding for a moment, before stopping in front of the other cars. Then none of them moved as there was a short stand-off.

"I asked them to stay out of it," L commented, scowling at the scene below.

Light glanced over at him, a frown on his face as well. "Then the person behind it must be…"

"Yes, you're right. Aizawa."

The helicopter hovered over the only available exit for Higuchi now, blocking him off. Not surprisingly, the Yotsuba executive decided to take his chances; the car roared to life again and attempted to drive underneath the helicopter, but Watari was ready. He raised his sniper rifle, aimed, and shot the tyre of Higuchi's car. There was a harsh squeal as it twisted around and around, spinning in circles, until it finally came to rest against the wall of the bridge. The window on the driver's side shattered, littering the road and Higuchi with fragments of glass.

There was a brief pause, during which the police waited for orders from L, the detective waited to see what Higuchi would do, and the Yotsuba Kira waited to see what everyone else would do.

But then Higuchi took it into his own hands.

He yanked a gun free from his bag and pointed it at his own head. "Stay back!" he yelled, a desperate, fearful tone to his voice. "Everyone stay back!" His voice actually broke on the last word, his utter terror rendering him unable to control the fluctuation of pitch in his voice.

"This is bad," Light muttered.

"Idiot," L agreed.

Before Higuchi could even think about pulling the trigger, Watari fired a second shot, this time aiming for his gun. It skittered out of his grip when the bullet hit it, and landed somewhere on the bonnet of his car, where it slid down the other side and was lost. Carefully, L lowered the helicopter to allow it to stand on the ground, sealing off Higuchi's only exit.

"It's over," Light breathed, a smile on his lips.

L glanced at him, a rare sparkle of happiness in his eyes. "Yes, it is."

* * *

After a short pause, Higuchi was surrounded by masked police officers, including Soichiro and Mogi. Everyone was armed – excluding the two members of the Task Force in the group – and their handguns were pointed directly at Higuchi. There was no escape for him now.

Realising this, he slowly exited his car with his hands held above his head. Despite his impending arrest, there was still a proud tilt to his chin. Any lingering dignity was stripped from him, however, when he was forced to turn his back to the police force; handcuffs were slapped onto his wrists, a blindfold tied over his eyes and tape secured over his mouth. He was defenceless, even though he was Kira – a few simple measures, and everyone was relatively safe.

"Mogi, give Higuchi a headset," Light ordered.

Once it was in place, L wasted no time in leaping into his questions. In the typical style of the detective, however, he poured himself a cup of tea from the flask that had been hidden by his side. It was still piping hot; the steam that rose from its surface clouded up the windows of the helicopter, and he had to wipe it away with his sleeve so he could continue watching the scene.

"Higuchi, how have you been killing?" L demanded once the tape had been torn off of Higuchi's mouth. "Tell us! There's no point in hiding it now." When there was no reply, he added, "I'm asking you how you kill as Kira!"

Silence, but for the sound of the man's breathing on the other end.

L's eyes narrowed as he put the flask to one side. "If you don't talk, I'll do whatever it takes to make you."

There was another pause, but L sensed defeat, and as usual his instincts were spot on. After a long moment, Higuchi growled, _"The notebook…"_

"The notebook?"

A short bark of laughter from Kira. _"You probably won't believe it, but there's a notebook that kills whoever's name you write in it, if you know what they look like…"_

L's eyes widened ever so slightly. _Notebook…?_

_ "It's in my bag in my car!"_

Despite the whirling of his brain, L didn't miss a beat, and he was pleased to hear that his voice was steady even though thoughts were chasing each other through his mind. "Yagami-san, please check to see if such a thing is in the car."

_"Ok."_

L waited impatiently as Soichiro rooted through Higuchi's possessions in his briefcase. The detective could feel that he was on the brink of a discovery, and he wanted- no, _needed_ Soichiro to find the notebook that very instant. After what seemed like a lifetime to L, Soichiro emerged from the car with a little black book in his hands.

_"Is this it…?"_ He crouched on the ground beside the vehicle, resting one knee on the gravel to balance himself. _"Ryuzaki, I found a notebook, but I don't see anything odd about it… There are names written in here but- Ah!"_

Soichiro suddenly threw himself backwards, scrambling backwards and dropping the notebook by the car's ruined tyre. He cringed away from the wall behind it, holding up one hand to protect his face and maybe even hide it from view, but he didn't look away from that spot. _"Ah!"_

"What is it, Yagami-san?" L asked urgently.

_"M-monster! Monster!"_ He shoved his hand into his inside pocket, grasping through his jacket for a weapon of some kind._ "Aah! Ahh! Ah!"_

L knew it wasn't the time, but he really felt like hitting his head on the nearest available surface.

"You're not armed at the moment, Yagami-san. Please calm down."

_"Ryuzaki, there's a monster! Can't you see it?"_

Mogi took it upon himself to kneel beside Soichiro and attempt to quieten him. _"Relax, chief,"_ he said in his steady voice, placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

_"Mogi, it's right there! Can you see it?!"_

_ "No…"_ He allowed himself a light chuckle as he patted Soichiro on the back. _"You must be tired, chief. But we've caught Higuchi now, so you can… ah!"_

Mogi fell backwards as well, the notebook falling to the ground once again.

Yep, L was just about ready to smack his forehead against the window. He frowned and sipped his tea, watching the proceedings silently.

"What's going on?" Light asked, leaning forwards in an attempt to see better. "Dad? Mogi?"

It took a moment for Soichiro to gather his wits enough to reply; Mogi was rendered speechless by the sight that only the two of them could see. Once he'd moved what appeared to be a sufficient distance away from the non-existent monster, he cleared his throat and spoke haltingly, with many nervous glances back at the wall. _"L-looks like only those who touch the n-notebook… can see it… There _is _a monster, Ryuzaki, Mogi can see it, too!"_

L blew lightly over the surface of his tea, his brow furrowed in thought. _Monster… notebook… A Shinigami?_

He sat up and put his drink aside once he'd made his decision. "Please bring the notebook to the helicopter." He ignored Light's worried glance, brushing him off with a flick of his hand.

_"O-ok… Mogi, can you stand?"_ At his fellow officer's nod, Soichiro held out the notebook with a trembling hand; his shaking was so bad, Light and L could see it from the helicopter. _"Take that to Ryuzaki…"_

After much stumbling and shaking, Mogi eventually managed to reach the side of the helicopter, notebook gingerly held in his hands. He passed it over to L without complaint before hurrying back to Soichiro, tripping occasionally, clearly very glad to be rid of it. Once he was beside the chief again, who was leaning on one of the cars, he collapsed against the door of it heavily. Both of them shot glances back towards the wall, still flinching when the vision apparently didn't disappear.

L held the top two corners of the notebook between his thumbs and forefingers. He followed the gazes of Soichiro and Mogi, and his heart gave an odd stutter in his chest, but for the first time in months it wasn't Light's fault.

Looming over Higuchi was a skeletal figure. Its back was hunched as it stood beside him, and even L wondered for a moment how nobody else noticed its presence, but then he remembered what Soichiro's theory was: only those who had touched the notebook could see it. There was a tangle of what looked like purple hair on its head, and it had long arms that dangled down past what seemed to be its knees. The creature didn't spare a glance for L; for some reason, its gaze was fixed on Light.

"A Shinigami…" L murmured. His voice was soft, almost a whisper as he thought out loud. His hold on the notebook was limp, only just enough to stop him from dropping it. His eyes were wider than ever as he watched the Shinigami watch Light. "They really do exist…"

_Notebook… Show each other our notebooks in Aoyama… Light-kun and Misa-san met in Aoyama…_

He didn't even notice as Light snatched the notebook from his grasp.

_Notebook…_

_ Kira…_

_ Met in Aoyama…_

_ Second Kira…_

_ Love at first sight…_

_ This is Kira's method of killing… _

_ Kira… The Second Kira…_

_ Light-kun was Kira… He'd never use it in front of me… But Kira… The Second Kira…_

_ At least two notebooks must exist. This isn't over yet._

_ We'll have to make sure nobody can use this notebook, and then…_

It was then that L realised Light had the notebook.

He was staring at the black book with horror written all over his face. His mouth was actually hanging open with utter fear, and yet no sound came from his throat. His knuckles had turned white, his grip on the notebook was so tight.

L hesitantly laid a hand on his arm. "Light-kun?"

Light's reply was a strangled yell, that continued for some time.

Memory after memory after memory flooded into his brain, forcing themselves in front of his eyes before vanishing again, deep into his mind, as if they had never left. They rooted themselves in place like a weed, tainting his motivation for giving himself up in the first place and joining the Task Force. Every name he'd written flashed through his thoughts and leisurely floated away again. Ryuk, Rem and Misa, the rules of the Death Note, the arrival of the notebook at the perfect time, he remembered all of that... All those battles with L, all the ways he'd outsmarted him, all of _this…_

It was a lie. Being on the Task Force, searching for Kira, being close to L-

_No._ Light rebelled furiously against that. His scream died down to a whimper and then to nothing when he realised this. He might have been Kira, but his affection for L was honest and true. He really did care for the detective, despite the circumstances that had brought them together.

Everything else was a lie, but that, that small grain of safety that had remained pure in the centre of Light's brain as the memories washed over him, that was the only thing he felt sure of now. The presence of L in his life had even swayed his resolve to be Kira; the majority of his being cried out in horror at that. The world needed to be changed, there was no doubt about that… But was killing off people to do it the right thing?

_Yes,_ a traitorous voice in Light's mind whispered. _Yes. You will be God… Kira… Killer… Those that have wronged others deserve what they get. This world isn't right, it isn't safe…_

A shudder ran down his spine, making him tremble as a thought snaked its way into his mind. _Perhaps you could persuade L to join you. Wouldn't you make just a fantastic team? L and Kira… You could create the perfect world, and both of you would become Gods; you could rule together. Nobody would judge you two then. What Kira says is law, after all._

Light gradually became aware of L's voice, and his hand tightly wrapped around his wrist. "Light-kun, are you ok?"

He licked his lips, his eyes slowly opening. "F-fine…" He chuckled softly. Chuckling was good, chuckles couldn't sound hysterical, could they? "Can you believe it…? Writing someone's name in this kills them…"

"We can't exactly test it, can we?" L sighed. "Right, Soichiro?"

_"Of course not, Ryuzaki!"_

The detective scowled. "No choice, then. For now we'll just have to question Higuchi and that Shinigami…"

Light nodded. He carefully rested the notebook on his knee and picked up a laptop from the floor. "I'll compare the names written here to those of the victims…" As he typed, he hoped L couldn't detect the slight stutter of the keys from the trembling of his hands.

_I did it... Exactly as planned…_

But that wasn't triumph in Light's thoughts. It was fear. He was _Kira,_ he really was, and he was in a relationship with _L…_ He would be so disappointed in him, Light realised with a painful twist of his stomach. He needed to rid himself of this, he had to-

And yet…

He couldn't let it all go to waste. All of this planning. He needed to stay on top of it all, just in case he was suspected again.

Light swallowed nervously, but his typing didn't even hesitate.

_I have to kill Higuchi and gain possession of the notebook. I can work with this, I can work around this… It'll be fine… _

_ It'll all be fine… I'm sure…_

And yet, as he continued checking the names, Light knew with all of his heart that he wasn't sure at all.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's note: I won't keep you for long at all. I'd just like to thank you all again for your continued support. You're all wonderful! It makes me ridiculously happy to see an email telling me I have a new review, or a new follower, someone's favourited, or just contributed to the number of reads. Thank you! **

* * *

_Tick. Tick. Tick. _

Light stared down at his watch, his heart pounding much faster than the slowly turning second hand. He'd made his decision. He had to do it. There was no going back now.

He cared for L with all of his being, but the world needed Kira; there was no getting away from that fact. Light had decided long ago to sacrifice himself for the good of mankind, and he wasn't going to give up on his mission now. And so, with a heavy heart, he turned away from L slightly and lifted his hand to wrist, using the notebook as a cover.

"So far, the names match, Ryuzaki," he said, pleased to hear that his voice was steady now, instead of trembling with fear. _Click, click, click, click,_ went the button on his watch as he pulled on it behind the notebook. With a soft hiss, the hidden compartment slid open, revealing a slip of paper and a sewing needle.

Light was vaguely aware that L replied and was now ordering the police to bring Higuchi in, but that didn't matter. Distance wasn't a problem for the notebook, he remembered. Licking his lips nervously, Light held the needle in his right hand, and then pricked the tip of his left index finger. A droplet of blood shivered on the tip of the metal. Suppressing the growing need to be sick rising in his chest, Light lowered the needle's tip to the paper and began to write. It was painfully slow going. However, within a minute, the name _Kyosuke Higuchi _was scrawled out in blood.

_Forty seconds,_ Light thought anxiously. He bit the inside of his lip. There was no changing Higuchi's fate now; nothing could stop him from dying.

_Thirty-six… thirty-five… thirty-four…_

Light cleared his throat. L glanced over, and Light was sure that he could still see concern lingering in his boyfriend's grey eyes. "Ryuzaki, what do you think scientific analysis on this notebook will reveal?"

L blinked at him, his worry clear in his expression. It hadn't left since Light had cried out upon touching the notebook. "Light-kun, that's not like you. That thing is obviously beyond science."

_Twenty-nine… twenty-eight…_

"Ha, yeah." Light smiled sheepishly and snapped it shut. "Good point."

_Twenty-three… twenty-two…_

The last twenty seconds seemed to stretch for an age. But then there was a horrible, strangled choking sound from Higuchi's headset, and he slumped in the grip of the police. There was a brief moment of panic where they didn't know how to react, but then they lowered him to the ground and attempted to help.

But it was too late. There was no hope for the man. Light felt a familiar thrill at ending the life of someone who he deemed unworthy to continue living, but at the same time there was horror at what he'd just done.

_"Ryuzaki,"_ Soichiro said, sounding shocked. His voice was hoarse with a mixture of his lingering fear and confusion. _"Higuchi… he's dead."_

* * *

The table in the centre of the main room at Headquarters was littered with paper, photos and stains where coffee had spilled over. The Task Force had been working over their problem for God-knew-how-long, and they were swiftly becoming tired. Not only did they have the issue of Higuchi's death to work with, but they had the Shinigami looming over them. Her presence brought a dark mood over the Task Force that they couldn't shift.

And, despite this new puzzle they had to work with, L couldn't help that his mind was occupied with Light. Ever since they'd come back from their attempt at arresting Higuchi, he'd seemed distant.

He didn't like it one bit.

With an irritated sigh, L massaged the side of his head, trying to tune out the now-annoying voices of the other members of the Task Force. They'd been going over the same things for at least an hour, and it was starting to take its toll on him, even if he wasn't directly involved with the discussion. Pressing his fingers against a particularly painful spot on his skull, L closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink into his thoughts.

_Higuchi… killed by Kira? Was it Light-kun, or the Shinigami? Higuchi is dead now… What I can do is… Notebook… that would mean…_

L shook his head sharply, a quiet growl of both pain and anger slipping between his lips. Thankfully, the Task Force didn't notice that L's façade was slipping.

_The video the Second Kira sent to Sakura TV… "Meet at Aoyama and show each other our notebooks." That was clearly sent by Amane-san. And Light-kun was the only person that was investigated by Raye Penber who went to Aoyama… Amane-san acknowledges that she met him there and 'fell in love with him'…_

_ Everything adds up until now._ L picked up a piece of candy between his thumb and forefinger, but didn't eat it; it hovered in front of his mouth, uncertain, as he continued thinking. _But if you believe the notebook… was Amane-san just being used? Is it all just a coincidence?_

"Ryuzaki."

L looked up, dropping the sweet into his mouth as he swivelled his chair to face the Task Force. Aizawa had rejoined them since the Higuchi incident, and had been making an effort to make up for the time he'd lost. At L's nod, Aizawa continued.

"The notebook and ink used to write the instructions are made up of materials that aren't supposed to exist."

"I see!" Soichiro made a 'hmph' sound and crossed his arms. "So, as Rem said, the notebook is from the Shinigami realm, and the rules _were_ written by a Shinigami to allow a human to use it!"

L left them to it, turning his chair back around to face the desk as he scooped up another handful of sweets. He merely picked through them, glancing at Light out of the corners of his eyes. Aizawa went on to read out the rules, and L felt a flicker of unease when he mentioned one of the final ones: "If the person using the notebook fails to consecutively write names of people to be killed within thirteen days of each other, then the user will die."

Of course L knew what that meant.

Seeming to ignore both Light and L, Aizawa went on to add, "If Light and Amane, who were in confinement for over fifty days, were Kira and the Second Kira, there's no way they'd be alive right now."

And that was it.

L rested his chin on his knees. Not only were they proving him wrong – which was an insult to his intelligence – but they were also making him feel… off. Something just didn't seem right to him. It weighed down his stomach and made him feel faintly ill. Deciding he wasn't all that hungry, he returned the sweets to the bowl. Nobody noticed.

Borrowing the notebook from Aizawa, Soichiro pointed at the final rule. "If you make this notebook unusable by tearing it up or burning it, all humans who have touched the notebook will die." There was a troubled look on Soichiro's face as he glanced up at the Task Force. "So, at the very least, everyone here will die if we destroy it."

Aizawa took it back, waving a dismissive hand. "We'll just have to keep it locked up here. It should be safe with all of the security, and we're the only ones who know of its existence."

L slid his cup of tea off of its saucer and balanced it on his knee, holding onto just the handle. He stared into its contents, a gentle frown on his face. Still watching the dregs of liquid in the bottom, he murmured, "Rem-san?"

There was a soft rustle as the Shinigami turned her head towards him. She didn't reply, so L spoke again. "There are no more notebooks in the human world, correct?"

"Who knows?" Her voice almost had an oddly lyrical quality to it, and yet it was almost dead; there was no emotion to it, and she stated things instead of speaking with any particular tone. "There might be, and there might not be. The only notebook I'm required to watch over is this one here."

The detective nodded, humming to himself in thought. He drained the remainder of his tea and replaced the cup on the saucer before asking another question. "And if there were other notebooks, would they have the same rules?"

"Yes, they're the same. There are many notebooks in the Shinigami realm, but the rules are all the same, and they don't change when a human uses one."

L simply hummed again in response. He perched his chin on his hands and stared at the table, preparing for the Task Force to speak up. He could almost feel them standing and joining Rem behind him, as if they wished to intimidate him.

What a ridiculous thought.

Unsurprisingly, Aizawa was the first to protest. "Ryuzaki, the suspicion against Amane and Light has been cleared. The surveillance of them should end." Instead of offering any real reason, Matsuda simply agreed. Soichiro grumbled at the back.

L was silent for a long while. If he was going to end it, it would be when he was ready; he wanted to remind them that he was in control by making them wait. But, eventually, it couldn't be avoided. Their murmurs and awkward shifting behind him was doing nothing to help his headache. Bowing his head, he quietly said, "I understand. I'm sorry for all the trouble."

There was a ripple effect as the Task Force relaxed; first Matsuda, Aizawa and Mogi sighed, then Soichiro murmured, "Thank God," and clapped Light on the shoulder and, finally, Light let his shoulders sag in relief.

But Light sat up again, turning to L. The detective was annoyed with how eagerly he met Light's gaze, but his irritation softened when he saw the genuine smile on Light's features. It was the first he'd directed towards L since they'd recovered the notebook, and it made L realise just how much he'd missed it. Perhaps he wasn't such an emotionless robot after all, he thought.

"But we can't say that the case is closed," Light reminded them, directing his speech at L. "Someone other than Higuchi had to be killing the criminals before I went into confinement. If Kira and the Second Kira existed at the same time, then as Ryuzaki said, there must be multiple copies of the notebook.

"Who were Kira and the Second Kira?" Light shrugged, holding up his hands in a 'who knows?' gesture. "If there's another notebook, where is it? We need to answer these questions."

He tugged on the chain. "The handcuffs will need to be removed, Ryuzaki. But it's ok if I stay here to investigate, right?"

"Yes." L nodded and turned back to his empty teacup. His heart sank; it looked like he and Light would be in separate rooms from then on. He'd been managing to sleep better with Light's presence – the young man had even refused to rest until L did a few times – and now he would be back to staying awake at night, perching on a chair like an overgrown owl. "So I'll be saying goodbye to Misa-san, then…? We won't have her under surveillance anymore, so we can't keep her here. She's an outsider, so we don't want her involved. Mogi will stop acting as her manager, too."

He paused, his gaze flicking over to Light. After a beat that was a little bit too long, he asked, "Will you be seeing her outside of here?"

"Not as her boyfriend," he said firmly. "But as a friend, yes. I can't spare enough time from the investigation to have a proper relationship with her; it would be cruel to lead her on. I'm going to explain it all to her when she leaves. But I do want to stay in contact with her, though; she did risk her life to help me out, after all."

"A valid point," L commented, chewing on his thumb.

As Aizawa and Soichiro awkwardly tried to console Matsuda – "Poor Misa-Misa! But she loves Light so much!" – L tipped his head towards the Shinigami that was lurking behind him again. "Rem-san, the line 'you don't have the eyes' was in the video the Second Kira sent to Sakura TV. These eyes are ones that allow you to see a person's name when you see their face, correct?"

Rem was silent. L turned to watch her, and she shifted uncomfortably under his grey, dull gaze, but kept her odd purple lips pressed together in silence. The tips of her short fangs were digging into her lips, but it couldn't have hurt her; she was, after all, a Shinigami.

"What's wrong, Rem-san?" L raised an eyebrow. "Can't you tell humans about it?"

But, instead of Rem answering, it was Light that spoke up. L pushed his chair around to face the young man, and Rem was visibly relieved to be released from the hold of the detective's gaze.

"Ryuzaki, that has to be the case." Light glanced at Rem, uncertainty flickering in his eyes, before he returned his attention to L. "They have to be eyes that allow you to see people's names after a trade with a Shinigami. That can easily be deduced based on the Second Kira's comments and Higuchi's actions."

The Shinigami's golden eyes widened before narrowing again. "You two are mighty clever… It's something I should only reveal to the owner of the notebook, but since you've figured it out, I won't deny anything. That's exactly what the eyes do."

There was a glimmer of excitement in L's expression that he couldn't hide. "Then what's this 'trade'?"

However, Rem shook her head from side to side slowly. "Now that's something I can only reveal to the user."

"Last question for now," L promised. "What about a human using the notebook and then losing their memory of doing so?"

Rem didn't hesitate this time. "Who knows…? That doesn't happen to a Shinigami and I'm not human, so I don't know how it affects you."

_Helpful,_ L commented silently. Deciding he needed the brainpower, he made a pile of sweets on the palm of his hand.

* * *

The next morning, Misa left Headquarters.

The Task Force was gathered in the entrance to the building, saying their goodbyes – all except for L. He was sat in the main room, rubbing his wrist which was now free from the handcuff, unable to help himself from watching on a monitor. Misa actually burst into tears when Light gave her his news, but L was dismayed to see her reaction after that.

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder. "Oh, Light! You're so sweet! Don't worry, I'll wait for you!"

Light hesitated, then returned her hug loosely. "No, Misa. I don't want you to hang around for me… We're still friends, aren't we?"

"Of course!"

L scowled. He only noticed that the Task Force, minus Light, had returned when the screen flickered and went black; glancing up, he saw Aizawa had turned it off.

"Ryuzaki, I thought you agreed not to monitor them anymore?" he scolded.

L fought the urge to comment on his patronising tone, and instead looked away, appearing chastened. "Yes… I'm sorry. Old habits die hard, I suppose."

And yet, he worried. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something had shifted between him and Light since the evening where they'd attempted to arrest Higuchi, but he couldn't quite identify what that feeling was.

As the Task Force went about their business, L dropped his gaze to his knees. He had to be prepared for any course of action; that was what he'd always done. And so he unfolded himself from his chair, stood, and slipped away from the group.

He needed to speak to Watari. L hoped that his father figure would be able to reassure him, and it turned out that he could; when he emerged from Watari's surveillance room an hour later, it was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. L knew what to do. And even if it would cause him great pain, there was no avoiding what he'd chosen.

The wheels were in motion, and there was no stopping them now.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's note: Well, this is the final chapter.**

**Goodness! I didn't expect this fic to become so popular at all! I just wanted to see how it would go if _I _wrote this storyline. And here we are! Three more fics to come yet, and a whole lot more to write. But we're a quarter of the way through now. Wow.**

**Thank you all so much for your wonderful messages, for favouriting and following, and for contributing to the number of readers. You're all absolutely fantastic!**

**~ Adurna Skulblaka**

* * *

It turned out that L didn't have much to worry about on his first night apart from Light. The main room of Headquarters was empty, save for the detective, who was perched on a chair and nibbling on a sugar cube. The only light was the glow of the largest of the television screens, which had the simple white background and the 'L' logo on it. Several days had passed since the Higuchi incident, and the Kira investigation had ground to a halt – again.

The faint ding of the elevator made L turn his face to the side. He heard the soft padding of bare feet on the tiles, and then a pair of arms gently encircled his shoulders and a chin rested on his head. L closed his eyes and sighed quietly, reaching up to place his hand on Light's forearm. Without him noticing, his thumb made gentle circling movements.

"Why aren't you asleep?" L murmured.

Light chuckled. "I could ask you the same question."

A smile twitched on the corners of the detective's lips. "I do hope we're not going to be having this conversation again. We have established that I don't sleep."

"How you manage to go without it for so long is beyond me." Light lifted his head only to duck it down and kiss L's cheek. "But still, why aren't you even trying?"

"Because you're in my old room, obviously. It wouldn't be… _prudent_ for me to share with you anymore, and I'm not tired anyway. We don't have the excuse of the handcuffs anymore." Light's hand, which had been sat on top of his other one as he loosely hugged L, drifted to the wrist which had been enclosed in said handcuffs; it felt strange without them, and Light still found himself changing his movements to accommodate the chain, even though it was no longer there.

"You still need to sleep," Light protested, "and there are plenty of rooms. Just pick one of them."

"The sofa will be fine. I only need very little sleep as it is. Don't worry yourself, Light-kun." L tipped his head back so he could see his boyfriend's face, and suddenly he felt a rush of emotion for the young man. Dropping the sugar cube that he'd been holding, L put his hand on Light's cheek instead. He kept his face free of what he was truly feeling, and pulled on a mask of affection and just a little bit of wonder. Really, why Light had ever wanted him was a mystery. With just a hint of the sadness that L was really feeling, he added, "Go back to bed, Light-kun. Get some rest. We need everyone thinking clearly so we can make progress."

At that, Light sighed, but decided to go along with it. But before he left, he moved around the chair and, when L raised his head again with a confused frown, he pressed a brief, gentle kiss to his lips. Light murmured, "Try to get some sleep, won't you?"

After a short pause, L nodded. "Because you asked so nicely…"

Light chuckled and pecked L on the lips again, this kiss a little more lingering than the last. Before it could go too far, Light drew back. "Goodnight. See you in the morning."

"Actually, it already is the morning, Light-kun."

"Don't push it."

* * *

That was the last encounter L and Light had as a couple. It was the calm before the storm, the gentle breeze that stirred the waters before the wind picked up.

And L knew that the blame would rest with him when it was over.

It had been raining nonstop for several days, but now it was really pouring down; it was impossible to escape the sound of water hammering against the windows wherever one went in the building. The Task Force was huddled inside, in the warm and dry, attempting to make some progress in the Kira Case. It was like before all of the Higuchi business; no leads, little motivation and a lot of snappy police officers. It didn't make for a very happy atmosphere.

L had been missing for a while, Light noticed. He'd mumbled something about needing to think, and then vanished. Light glanced at his watch – his heart sped up with the knowledge that a piece of the notebook was concealed inside it – and made it an hour that L had been gone. Worried, Light made his excuses and disappeared, too, to hunt for the detective.

He checked the whole of the building, and he was nowhere to be found. Light looked all over, and he wasn't anywhere; not in the kitchen, any of the bedrooms, not in a bathroom… nowhere. Eventually, the only place left to check was the roof, but that was ridiculous. The wind had started howling around the tall building, hurling the rain against the walls even harder than before. If L _was_ outside, he would be soaked to the bone.

But it was still worth checking. Maybe L had gone out for a walk and found himself stuck in a small overhang of some kind outside, hiding from the weather. It was unlikely, but Light had nothing else to go on.

And that was how Light found himself under the little shelter on the roof, peering through the grey and the rain in an attempt to find the detective. He could see vague shapes of the various structures on the roof – a tower here, the helicopter there – and, if he wasn't mistaken, a familiar, pale figure towards the centre.

L was stood with his hands in his pockets and his head tipped back, but that was all that Light could see from where he was.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, Light sucked in a lungful of air and shouted, "What are you doing out here?"

L turned, and Light could just make out the motion of his head tipping to the side. Frowning, Light called out again, louder this time. "What are you doing out here, Ryuzaki?"

The detective lifted one hand and put it by his ear. _I can't hear you, Light-kun_, it meant._ Speak up, please._

Grimacing, Light raised his arms against the wind and began to make his way out onto the roof. He was instantly bombarded by what felt a wall of water, and it only took a few seconds for him to become drenched. Shivering just a little bit, Light pushed forward until he was stood next to L. Like him, the detective was soaked, but L didn't seem to mind at all. Every so often he'd flick his head to get a few droplets of water off of his hair, but that was all, and it was only because they'd been threatening to drip into his eyes.

"What are you doing out here?" Light repeated for the third time, his voice gentle now.

L frowned, grey eyes flickering with something that was quickly hidden away. "Nothing in particular…" he mumbled – Light had to strain to hear him properly, his voice was so soft. "It's just… I can hear the bell."

Light felt worry curling in his stomach. "The bell?"

"Yes. It's been unusually loud today."

Following L's gaze up at the sky, Light shook his head, both to get rid of some water that had been about to splash onto his face and to frown. "I can't hear anything."

Light had had no doubt from the very beginning that L was just a little bit mad, but this was proving it. He was just a little bit frightened by the detective's words; it reminded him of the fact that he, Light Yagami, was also on the edge of insanity.

He would have to be to keep his control over the notebook.

"Really? You can't hear it?" L sounded disbelieving, and when he glanced over at Light his eyebrows were raised in question. "It's been ringing nonstop all day. I find it very distracting. I was wondering what it could be… a wedding, or maybe…"

By that point, Light was truly concerned for the detective. He took hold of his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Cut it out, Ryuzaki. Come on, let's go back inside. We're both drenched."

L returned Light's hold, threading their fingers together without so much as a passing look down at their hands. It was almost a subconscious reaction now. "Tell me, Light-kun. From the moment you were born, has there ever been a moment where you spoke the complete truth?"

Light had the horrible feeling that this wasn't L fishing for information about his intentions, but something for himself, and yet he couldn't tell why this was something to be concerned about. He just knew by the turn of his stomach that something was off. "Everyone stretches the truth now and again, but I make an effort to tell the truth. Where is this coming from?"

L completely ignored the question. "Nobody will tell the truth completely for the whole of their life, Light-kun. Humans just aren't like that. Whatever reason we have for lying, we do it… Even the most honest people lie at some point, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, but-"

Light didn't have time to finish speaking. He was cut off by the shrill screech of an alarm going off, followed by the flashing of emergency lights from indoors. The red colour of the bursts of brightness was distorted through the rain, but perfectly visible.

"What the hell?" Light breathed, his brow furrowing. He glanced at L, and he felt his stomach drop.

The look on the detective's face could only be described as horror.

"I told Watari to only do this if it was necessary…" he murmured. L's gaze was unfocused as he stared at the door, and his voice was quiet, barely audible. "He wasn't to set it off unless he absolutely had to…"

Light dropped L's hand, and placed both of his own on the detective's shoulders. "Ryuzaki, what is going on?" he demanded.

"Something's happened to Watari." L seized Light's wrist in a tight grip, clinging onto him. "We need to get back inside, and warn everyo-" L stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening.

"Ryuzaki?" Light said again, worried now.

Everything seemed to halt in that moment. Light couldn't feel the sting of the rain on his skin, or hear the howl of the wind, or see the still juddering lights. All he knew was that L had gone rigid in his arms, that he looked shocked and, as far as he knew, he wasn't breathing.

Then L exhaled in a soft _whoosh_ of breath and slumped forwards.

Light grabbed hold of him and lowered him to the ground as slowly as he could, but he felt himself falling to his knees anyway. His heart was pounding in his chest hard enough for him to think it was fighting its way out between his ribs. He tried to make L sit up, but the detective only collapsed against him again, his face buried in Light's shoulder. L was gasping for breath, and he had one hand fisted in his shirt over his heart.

Light knew exactly what was happening. He'd feared this since he'd learned who he was again. He hadn't had an opportunity to talk to Rem, to warn her off, and now…

Now L was dying, and it was all his fault.

Suddenly everything was at normal speed again, but Light wished he could just turn back the time.

"Ryuzaki!" he yelled, holding him tightly, as if that would halt the process. When that failed to yield results, he lifted his head, turned towards the doors and shrieked, "Someone! Ryuzaki!"

He heard the door slam open, and held back the shudder that was fighting its way up his spine. Even if they came, they wouldn't be able to stop it, he knew.

And it hurt. It hurt far more than it had any right to.

L inhaled shakily. "Light-"

"Shh," Light hushed, interrupting him. "Don't. Just hang on, Ryuzaki, hang on, please. Help is coming, they're almost here…"

Light made the mistake of glancing down at L.

The detective's grey eyes were wide with pain and, yes, _fear_ as he stared up at the younger man. There was also an apologetic edge to them, but why did that have any business being there? Was he sorry for dying? Ridiculous. It wasn't L's fault at all, it was his, it was Light's. L's grip on his wet shirt had slackened now, and his hand was limp on his chest.

For a moment, all was still again. Then L quietly said, "Light…" and his eyes began to close.

Light was frozen. Unable to move. Unable to _think_. It could be happening, no, it wasn't real, it wasn't. "Ryuzaki," he gasped, "don't, no. Stop it!"

Everything felt terrifyingly real. It certainly felt real when Aiber crouched beside him and gently tugged L out of his arms, and when Wedy enclosed her own around Light's shoulders. The pain in his own chest made it seem real - but the agony he was feeling wasn't for the same reason that L had put his hand over his heart. Aiber stood, L cradled in his arms, and led the way inside. Wedy tried to get Light to stand, but he refused. He simply knelt there, on the roof in the rain, and let loose a yell that could rival the one he'd cried in the helicopter.

* * *

There are many times one could pinpoint as the exact moment when Light lost his mind. When he first found the notebook, perhaps. Or when he first killed, maybe. Probably when he decided that he would become God.

All of those would be wrong.

The second that Light snapped was when he saw L die in front of him.

Light, the nicer boy that he'd started to become in L's presence vanished again, and Kira replaced him. The 'weakness' would fade away over the next few years, and the 'strength' he'd had before would return.

Kira, God of the new world, was back. And his quest to cleanse the planet of evil was in place once more.

* * *

**_Continued in __Hope To Die_**


End file.
